Serenity's Legend
by Cosmos
Summary: A lone soldier must strive to save an entire era from the destruction of Chaos...but to do so she must first find again the meaning of her fight.
1. Dawn of the Quest

Hi there, I've written this story a long time ago (this is the first fanfic I've written)  
but I didn't post it on this site (fanfiction.net) before, so I'm doing it now. I hope  
you'll enjoy it. ^_^  
  
This fanfic takes place after the  
defeat of Galaxia and Chaos in the Sailor Moon Manga.  
For those who have never read the manga, you may not   
understand somethings. First of all, there will be many  
places in the story that mentions The Cauldron of the  
Stars. According to the manga, that is where all the  
Sailor Soldiers are born. Perhaps, to better understand  
the story, you should go and read the Sailor Moon Manga.   
However, it is not really necessary since this is a story   
in itself.   
  
Please, anyone, email me and tell me what you think of   
it. Just email me at ml_eclipse@hotmail.com   
  
Oh, by the way, everyone knows that Sailor Moon and all   
the characters of Sailor Moon does not belong to me. It   
belongs to a magical kingdom known as Kodansha/Toei and   
to the princess Naoko Takeuchi.  
  
Well, enough of my babbling and let the show begin....!  
  
= thoughts or anything else in italics  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Let not thy divining heart  
Forthink me any ill,  
Destiny may take thy part,  
And may thy fears fulfill;  
But think that we  
Are but turned aside to sleep;  
They who one another keep  
Alive, ne'er parted be.  
Song-John Donne  
  
  
Serenity's Legend  
  
Part I:Dawn of the Quest  
  
A lone figure strolls through a deserted city, her long   
white cape flowing like smooth ocean waves behind her.   
Empty of any life, the skeletons of devastated buildings  
portray the only evidence that life was once abundant in  
this desolate wasteland. Dark sunken voids look out from  
the windows of these shattered buildings, providing the   
only audience to welcome home this solitary soldier. The  
emptiness and silence weighs heavily on her soul and mind,   
suffocating her. So deafening is the silence around her that   
she instinctively reaches up to cover her ears with her hands.   
A crude pungent smell of burning flesh reaches her nostrils,   
burning her throat as it slowly drifts into her lungs.   
Somewhere, far in the distance, faint sounds of thunder   
can be heard. She lifts her eyes and gaze toward the distant   
dark clouds, but no sign of rain can be seen. She should have   
known better, those noises were not thunder, but something far   
worse. Her body shivers as if a cold wind had blown by her. She   
lets her gaze drop on the distant horizon where a small peak of   
a shimmering object can be seen. Slowly she walks toward the   
object. Her pace is slow but steady as she picks her way   
through the path of destruction left by an unknown enemy.  
  
As she continues toward that distant peak, she is aware   
of something red at the corner of her eye. She turns her   
head and realizes that the object is a faint red ribbon   
waving desolately in the wind. Suddenly her heartbeat quickens:  
  
[flashback]  
"Hurry! Just go!" said a girl in purple.  
"But..." she cried.  
"Look you are the only one who can do this. Don't worry about   
us, we'll be able to hold out until you return."  
"Yeah! You BETTER hurry, we don't have all day waiting here   
for you!"   
  
"No," she breathes. "Let it not be so!"   
  
She races toward the ribbon while her mind runs wild with   
excuses that this cannot be what she thinks it is.  
This is probably only a piece of cloth from the buildings ...she  
is within 5 feet... probably only a red marker ...she is now   
within 2 feet and she can barely make out, beneath a huge gray   
cement block, two legs with one red shoe still on the left foot...   
God no, it cannot be ...she freezes, her heart battering within   
its cage, her mind screaming until she is sure that all the world   
can hear it... cannot be ...a large sparkling tear slides down her   
cheek...my dear friend.  
  
Another crystal tear rolls down her cheek. She struggles desperately  
to keep her vision clear, but the tears only kept coming, one after   
another, until her eyes are flooded with the sorrow in her trembling   
soul. She can feel her knees give way beneath her. She launched   
herself at the huge cement block upon the body. With all her strength,   
she heaved the heavy gray block off the body while her soul cries out   
in sorrow. She grabs the body, violently shaking it as if her forceful   
action would bring her friend back.   
  
"Oh God, why did this happen? Why? WHY?!" She lifts her sad beautiful   
face, pale as moonlight, stained with crystal tears, upward to the ominous   
gray sky. Her eyes burning with intense hatred, accusing the sky as if   
it is the cause of her friends death. She gives a heart-wrenching scream,   
something that comes from deep within her soul. "NOOOoooooo!" She screams,   
screaming until her lungs were burning, her voice growing hoarse. Until   
she can scream no more. The skeletons of ruined buildings surrounding her   
seem to echo her pain as her scream is reverberated through the entire   
city. Bent over, she sobs uncontrollably over the dead body.  
  
Slowly she gathers the lifeless body and swung it over her shoulder. She   
continues on her way toward the peak, but now her heart is in pieces.   
Finally, she reaches the object where the visible small peak revealed an   
immense building all covered in thick shining crystal. Obviously distance   
has played a trick on her eyes, making them believe that the peak of this   
great building was only a small object. She steps through the crystal wall   
as if it was not there. Inside, her pace quickens as she heads toward a   
magnificent white marble staircase leading down towards the heart of the   
building; carrying the heavy body she descends into the heart of the crystal   
palace. She reaches a large white door ornate with curious designs of strange   
battles fought long ago. Creatures of myth are found on these designs; one   
design has a small young maiden tenderly holding the head of a magnificent   
white horse with large wings and a golden horn. Another image has a tall   
young woman with two pointed balls on her head from which trails long flowing  
pink hair. The young woman is portrayed as kneeling with her head bent under   
an upheld crown of delicate designs. Oblivious to the multitudes of images,   
the lone soldier speaks out in a stern command to the door, "Door of Eternity  
allow me entry!" Upon the last word, the door began to rumble and   
shake as it opens its huge gates to reveal an immense room hidden behind it.  
The hot white light reflected off dazzling crystal walls races out and   
catches her eyes, momentarily blinding her, but after a few quick blinks   
her eyes grow accustom to the intense brightness of the room.  
  
Her mind motions her to go, but her body hesitates. For a few moments, she   
simply stood there as if fearing of what lies within the room. She can feel   
tears beginning to surge to the surface of her eyes. She   
struggles with her emotions. Finally, for what seems like an eternity,   
she clenches her fist and takes a determine step inside. The content of   
the room opens before her, and now it is understood why she had hesitated.  
Unfolded before her wavering gaze, hovering steadily in the air, five crystal  
coffins are laid out in two parallel rows expanding across the width of   
the room. The bodies of five dead soldiers were laid inside it long ago.  
She walks down between the rows, her eyes flickering from one coffin to  
the next. Sailor Jupiter...Sailor Uranus...Sailor Neptune...Sailor   
Mercury...Sailor Venus... her mind numbly calls out their names...  
  
"And Sailor Mars," she says as she reaches the end of the row. She raises  
her arm before the empty space, and as she slowly opens her hand, a bright   
light cuts through the floor rising up through the ceiling. The light   
increases in intensity as it reaches the body of Sailor Mars, bathing  
her body in red light. Once the light disappeared Mars's body is sealed  
within a crystal coffin similar to the others. She stood there awhile,  
staring at Mars vacantly. Her mysterious azure-colored eyes darken   
with the intensity of her grief, and anger to those who did this to her  
friends. The longer she stood there, the darker her blue eyes became  
until fiery blue flames of vengeance can be seen in them. If her   
friends had lived to see her now, they would not recognize her through  
the rage that is threatening to consume her soul. Never before has   
this soldier been succumbed to such emotions. Suddenly her eyes soften  
to a sad dull blue as she went to the distant corner of the room where  
another, a sixth crystal coffin is seen. "Darien...," a sad sigh   
escaped her mouth as she stood gazing tenderly at the body of a man in a  
velvet lavender cape and tuxedo. And I never had a chance to say   
goodbye. Suddenly she heard faint breathing nearby, and a weak voice   
calling out to her from a distant corner of the room, "Sailor...Cosmos."  
  
Cosmos instantly recognizes the voice, "Eternal Sailor Saturn?! Saturn,   
where are you?" Her heartbeat quickens and she gazes frantically about   
the room, looking for her friend.  
  
"Over here," a bare whisper is heard. Cosmos turns around and sees a   
slender hand with delicate fingers moving at the base of Uranus' coffin.  
Quickly, she rushes over and holds Saturn's frail body within her arms.   
Cosmos's mouth opens but no audible sound can be heard from it; so shocked  
is she by the sight of the pool of blood around her friend and Saturn's   
torn bow and skirt that she cannot speak. The young girl's face is smeared   
in blood with deep cuts on her cheeks and forehead. Saturn looks up at   
Cosmos's face with sad purple eyes, eyes that contain more wisdom than   
her young face may portray. She has skin unlike any other Cosmos has seen.   
Her translucent skin is so pale that it almost looks white, highlighting   
her purple eyes and rosy lips, giving her young face a unique beauty that   
is both sad and mysterious. Saturn attempts a faint smile but the pain   
stops her.  
  
"What has happened to you?" Sailor Cosmos cried. "What had happened to   
Mars? I thought you said you were able to hold out. Why did you lie to   
me?! Why did you two attempt to hold ground when you knew you couldn't?"  
"It was the only way to get you to go," Saturn whispered with pain, "to   
the past."  
  
"I'm so sorry," Cosmos cried. "I could not make her do it. I could not   
make her destroy the cauldron of the stars." Saturn simply smiles, though   
with much pain in her heart and her body. Cosmos's eyes widen, "You knew,   
didn't you? You knew that Eternal Sailor Moon would never destroy it,   
didn't you? But why, if you knew it was a hopeless mission, then why   
risk yourselves so that I can return to the past?"  
  
"The journey was more to teach you, then to prevent the Sailor Wars,"   
Saturn whispers. "When you became Sailor Cosmos, there is one thing deep   
inside yourself that you lost. You had forgotten your confidence and   
determination; you had forgotten the light of hope. But Eternal Sailor   
Moon had not. Therefore, the only way to have you remember was to have   
you confront Sailor Moon herself. And I see that that confrontation had   
helped you."  
  
"Yes," Cosmos whispers sadly. Once again she sees Eternal Sailor Moon,   
a look of innocence and hope lightens her face, as she stood before the   
cauldron facing Chaos. Sailor Moon's voice echoes in her mind, "We want   
to always live together, and together we will make our own future. The   
light of hope in our hearts and the love that we share with each other   
will guide us through any hardship that we will encounter. Together   
the Sailor Soldiers will triumph and peace WILL come."  
  
"Such strength, such hope and life..." Cosmos whispers. "Indeed she was  
strong, Saturn. Stronger than I will ever be. Even confronting such   
danger as Chaos herself, Sailor Moon still wanted to live her life,   
and to continue to believe in the future of this universe, a belief   
that I have lost long ago, along with the death of our friends," Cosmos   
whispers in a tone of intense sadness, and utter desolation.  
  
"I know this will be extremely hard for you Cosmos, but your destiny   
will lead you to encounter the past once again."  
"What?! Are you telling me to go to the past again? Are you mad?"   
exclaimed Cosmos.  
Saturn nods in silent confirmation.  
"Is that a nod as in 'Yes you have to go back to the past or Yes I   
am mad'?" Cosmos asks cockily.   
  
"Hold your peace and listen!" Saturn said impatiently, her eyes for a   
moment flash darkly. "I fear I don't have much time, so just listen!   
Do you remember how Chaos appears to mainly target King Endymion in   
every battle? I have always wondered why Sailor Chaos was so deeply   
interested to see to it that Darien is eliminated. Perhaps she knows   
something that we do not know, Cosmos. And something that Darien   
himself doesn't know either."  
  
"And the way Darien died," Cosmos says silently. She can remember   
the event as clearly as if it had happened only moments before, not   
years before. It was during an intense battle against one of Chaos's   
minions, when suddenly Tuxedo Mask fell to the ground clutching his   
chest in pain.  
  
"Before Mercury," Saturn's mournful voice suddenly interrupted her   
thoughts, "before Mercury sacrificed herself in that huge inferno   
in the Crystal Point Strategic Operations room she had just discovered   
unexpected information regarding a certain period in time after   
Galaxia's defeat at the Cauldron. Do you remember anything after   
that event?"  
  
Cosmos stared in silence; she delves deep into her mind to recall   
any sound, any images of the time which Saturn is referring to. But   
surprisingly all she can call on is darkness. She cannot remember   
anything from that time. "But had we not all been transferred directly   
to Crystal Tokyo in the future after that battle? I thought that   
Serenity and the other Sailor Soldiers were instantly transported to   
the future?"  
  
Saturn sadly shook her head, "That was what we had all thought because   
that was all that we can remember; but Mercury found out that we   
continued with our lives normally until our destinies led us to 29th   
century Tokyo. At which time Neo-Queen Serenity awakened the Earth   
and created Crystal Tokyo, and the time of the new Silver Millenium   
begin. Haven't you ever wondered why the Earth was covered in ice and   
the entire population placed in dormancy?"  
  
"But the answer to that question had been discovered already, long   
ago in 30th century Crystal Tokyo," Cosmos said. "There was some unknown  
natural catastrophe that had struck the earth and caused it so."  
  
"That was what we were all led to believe," whispers Saturn, the   
pains from her wounds are clearly making her ability to speak more and more  
difficult. "Actually, Mercury discovered that the Sailor Soldiers had   
encountered another enemy, deadlier than Galaxia, after the Sailor Star  
Battle. It was this knowledge that Mercury sacrificed her life to protect,   
so that we may have access to it later. Something had happened," Saturn   
strained to speak as the pain grows more unbearable, "Something had   
happened to us all, Sailor Cosmos, in that post-war period that is   
costing our lives now in the future. Something had prevented us from   
remembering the event that had occurred then. You must...you must go   
back again and find out what went wrong. Perhaps the solution to the   
Sailor Wars can be found in that missing link in time. You must find   
out..." Saturn gasped the last few words when suddenly her body stiffens,  
and her eyes grow completely dark and lifeless.  
  
"SATURN?!" Cosmos screams, tears drifting down her face.   
"Sailor Saturn, no! You cannot leave me. Please do not leave me alone.  
Please, I need you." Cosmos cries desolately, "No". After a few minutes,  
she regains her calmness and quietly calls forth another coffin for   
Saturn. Once Saturn's body is safely placed inside the coffin, Cosmos   
whispers in a deadly tone, " I will find out what this is all about!   
Even if I have to tear down the very fabric of this universe." She   
turns around as white mist forms in front of her and fades to reveal   
the Space-Time Door.  
  
=========================================================  
  
Thanks goes to everyone who have reviewed my other story "A Shepherd's Kiss" I'm glad  
you all liked it. I hope you've enjoyed this one as well. If anyone wants me to email  
them back, please put your email address along with your review, or else I couldn't reach  
you.  
  
I have two more stories that I'll try to post on this site later on when I can find more  
time.  
  
=======================================  
  
1999 (c) Cosmos. 


	2. A Time Forgotten

by Cosmos  
  
[For those of you who are not familiar with the Sailor Moon Manga, Sailor   
ChibiChibi is only an alternate form of Sailor Cosmos, not Galaxia's   
starseed. So please keep that in mind and the fact that this story is manga   
related. So this is the second part of my series, which may consist to 7 or   
8 parts long, I think. I hope that is not too long. This * is * my first   
fanfic so please bare with me. The story may start slow and doesn't have   
much action to it, but in part three and after I promise it will get better.   
I've decided to use English translation names for the Inner Senshi and   
Japanese names for the Outer, since I have no clue as to what their English   
translated names are. And Haruka and Michiru are only close friends not gay.  
It only makes it easier for me to write.  
  
Please, someone, anyone email me and tell me what you think of my story so   
far. You hate it? Well can you give me some suggestions to make it better?   
You love it? Well…I love you too! Please, I love emails, so send them all in.  
Also I'm planning to write more fanfics after this one, so any ideas for   
future fanfics please send them in. I am always looking for new ideas! This   
story is rated PG, well some slight violence and maybe language later on, if   
you call the word damn a bad thing. Well, enough of my babbling! On with the  
show!  
Oh yeah, disclaimers: Sailor Moon and all its characters and likeliness   
belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha/Toei. English translation is made   
possible by DiC.   
  
My email address: ml_eclipse@hotmail.com]  
  
= thoughts  
[ ] = author's note  
  
Serenity's Legend  
  
Part II:A Time Forgotten  
  
  
"So this is Tokyo after the Sailor Star Battle," whispers Cosmos in   
amazement. Spread out before her in a multitude of dazzling bright lights   
lies a large city. Her eyes hungrily take in the magnificent scenery of the   
lively city with its many people smiling and laughing as they take a night   
stroll about the streets. Tears swelled up in her eyes, it has been too long   
since she has seen happy, laughing people. She only saw this last through   
the eyes of Chibi Chibi. For years she has only known of darkness,   
devastation, pain, and sorrow. Cosmos closes her eyes and takes in a deep   
lung full of air. So refreshing, she thinks, when have I breathed in such  
sweet crisp air before? No smell of burning buildings, or dead bodies. How I  
envy these people! Laughing and talking without a care in the world, without   
a single notion of what lies in the dark and distant future.  
  
Quickly, she jumps onto a rooftop of a nearby shopping mall. At this height   
she is able to see a large expanse of the city. What should I do now?   
Where should I begin? Damn, I don't have a single clue, a single lead that   
can help me. Suddenly, she spots the rooftop of Cherry Hill Temple. She   
hesitates for a moment. Her heart reaches out, trying to fly over to the   
place she had known all too well. But it will only cause me more pain if I   
see them. Yet, I don't have anywhere else to go. Silent as the night   
wind, Cosmos runs toward the temple, deciding to just check the place out.   
Within moments she is sitting on top of the temple's roof, looking down at   
five young girls chatting on the porch.  
  
"Hey, you sure make great hot chocolate Lita," says Mina.  
"Yes, thank you for the treat," says Amy.  
"Hey, there are no more hot chocolate!" whines Serena.  
"Serena, how many cups did you have? I made sure that I had made enough for   
everyone to have at least three cups full."  
"I only had five!"  
"Serena, stop being such a pig!" yells Rei.  
"I am not!"  
"Are to!" Rei sticks her tongue out at Serena. Serena in turn does the same   
towards Rei.  
  
Serena and Rei begin their tongue fight until Amy stops them, "Stop it you   
two! Don't you ever get tired of fighting all the time."  
  
"Yeah," says Mina, "it is getting tiresome battling the dark forces all the   
time. The peace and quiet is a welcoming event. So why don't you two just   
shush and enjoy it."  
  
"But Rei started it!" Serena whines.  
  
"I did not noodle brain!" Rei retorts.  
  
The other three girls sigh and give up any attempt at a resolution between   
those two. Through all this Cosmos watches them silently, a strange pang of   
envy vibrates in her heart at the mention of peace. I guess things have   
not changed all that much between Rei and me, thought Cosmos, a slight   
smile appearing on her lips. Oh, how she longs to be with them, to join   
their conversations. Cosmos listens to their conversations for a while but   
then decides to leave and search for the other members of the team. She   
turns and runs away.  
  
"What was that?" Rei says as she turns and looks in the direction where   
Cosmos had just hidden.  
"What is it Rei?"  
"I thought I heard something."  
"Probably just the wind."  
  
Rei did not respond. I sensed something, she thinks, some strange energy.   
There is a strange glow in the fire tonight.  
  
Through the crisp night air, Cosmos runs silently until she reaches a park   
where she spots four distinct forms silhouetted against the bright full moon   
by a lake. The Outer Soldiers, she thinks, even at this time they have   
not fully joined with the Inner Soldiers. I have always been wondering why   
the separation between them? Cosmos positions herself behind a nearby   
tree. She closes her eyes and silently listens to their conversation, while   
emotions of uncontrollable intensity storms within her heart.  
  
"Such a lovely clear night," Haruka was saying.  
"Hmmm…the moon appears to be extra bright tonight," whispers Michiru.  
"As if it is welcoming a friend," says Setsuna.  
"What friend?" young Hotaru asks looking confusedly at Setsuna.  
"She doesn't mean anyone specific Hotaru."  
  
The night is exceptionally clear with innumerous numbers of stars twinkling   
in the dark sky. Without a single breeze, the lake acts like a fairy's   
mirror, reflecting the moon with perfect clarity. But then a lost breeze   
flows by Cosmos and then around the Outer Soldiers. Setsuna catches a   
strange image of a dark city and flashes of strange blocks of crystals, but   
the image vanishes as quickly as it came. Hotaru notices Setsuna's body   
suddenly stiffening and asks, "What is the matter Setsuna?"  
  
"Hmmm? Oh nothing." Setsuna slips into silence, thinking about the strange   
image that had just appeared to her. What in the world was that? Was it a   
vision of a large city? There is something familiar about that city. Where   
have I seen it before? Setsuna's brow knit together in deep concentration.   
But it was such a dark and ominous place. Should I tell the others about   
this vision? Hmmm, maybe I'll wait awhile. I must find out more about this   
strange vision.  
  
"Umm…I have to go now" Setsuna begins, "I just forgot about something I must   
do. I will see you all later. Goodnight." And she walks off and disappears  
into a strange wall of mists.  
"What has gotten into her?" questions Haruka. Michiru only shakes her head   
in wonder. Hotaru's eyes suddenly change into a cold purple stare in   
Setsuna's direction. Something is wrong, she thinks. I, too, can   
sense it Setsuna, an infinite power. Suddenly she catches a slight   
movement behind a nearby tree. Haruka notices the movement, too, and quickly  
rushes over followed by the other two. But they can see no one.  
  
Throughout the night, Cosmos stealthily searches the city for any clue, any   
sign that might help her in her quest. However, she ended her search as   
empty-handed as she had begun. I know where I must go to find the   
answer, she thinks. There is only *one* person who can help me now, but I   
don't want to see…Oh, there must be another way to find what I seek without   
causing anymore pain to anyone. Leaning against a brick wall on top of a   
tall tower, Cosmos silently watches the coming of dawn. A bright red glow   
indicates the arrival of the sun. A battle between light and dark unfolds   
before her eyes, as if reflecting the battle that is to come. The rays of   
light pierce through the cloak of night like arrows from a goddess's bow.   
Slowly, the light pushes against the receding darkness like an unrelenting   
typhoon. Somehow the dark manages a counter attack and the sun bleeds onto   
the sea covering the silvery surface in a bright red glow. But no matter how   
hard the struggle was, the dark eventually retreats over the earth's edge,   
and throughout the day, it lays dormant, waiting until the coming of the next   
battle when light and dark will again interlock at that very horizon. No,   
I cannot run away any longer. No matter what sorrow this encounter will   
cause me, I must find the answer…to save the future and those who are   
fighting there. Cosmos turns her gaze from the horizon to a tall apartment   
building close to the bay, where a young man slumbers peacefully in bed,   
unaware of what destiny is about to bring him.  
---------------------------------------  
  
[Well? How is it? I know not much in this part but it gets better, I promise   
so keep reading! Email me!]  



	3. Old Acquaintance

by Cosmos  
  
[For those of you who are not familiar with the Sailor Moon Manga, Sailor   
ChibiChibi is only an alternate form of Sailor Cosmos, not Galaxia's   
starseed. So please keep that in mind and the fact that this story is manga   
related. So this is the third part of my series, which may consist to 7 or   
8 parts long, I think. I hope that is not too long. This * is * my first   
fanfic so please bare with me. I've decided to use English translation names   
for the Inner Senshi and Japanese names for the Outer, since I have no clue   
as to what their English translated names are. And Haruka and Michiru are   
only close friends not gay.  
It only makes it easier for me to write.  
  
Please email me and tell me what you think of my story so far.   
This story is rated PG, well some slight violence and maybe language later   
on, if you call the word damn a bad thing. Well, enough of my babbling! On   
with the show!  
Usual, disclaimers: Sailor Moon and all its characters and likeliness   
belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha/Toei. English translation is made   
possible by DiC.   
  
My email address: ml_eclipse@hotmail.com]  
  
= thoughts  
[ ] = author's note  
  
==================================  
  
No, no, go not to Lethe, neither twist  
Wolf's-bane, tighted-rooted, for its poisonous wine;  
Nor suffer thy pale forhead to be kissed  
By nightshade, ruby grape of Proserpine;  
Make not your rosary of yew-berries,  
Nor let the beetle, nor the death-moth be  
Your mournful Psyche, nor the downy owl  
A partner in your sorrow's mysteries;  
For shade to shade will come too drowsily,  
And drown the wakeful anguish of the soul.  
  
Ode on Melancholy-John Keats  
---------------------------------------  
Serenity's Legend  
  
Part III:Old Acquaintance  
  
A week later:  
  
What? Huh? Where am I? Darien finds himself in a large building whose  
walls are made entirely of crystal. This looks like the crystal palace,   
but what am I doing here? What? Darien quickly turns around as a large   
white door appears before him. The door slowly opens to reveal a large  
room. Darien takes a hesitant step into the room. He gasps in horror.   
Floating before his wavering gaze are six crystal coffins aligned in two   
rows. Through the opaque crystal, Darien can barely make out the colors   
of the outfit worn by its subjects. Nonetheless, he just cannot make out   
the faces of those beings inside the crystal. As Darien looks across the   
room, he spots a seventh crystal coffin, but the crystal of this coffin   
glows with a golden color. Darien takes a step closer, but then he runs   
into an unseen barrier. There is no opening or doorway for him to go   
through. He is blocked. Someone, or something, does not want him to see   
the occupant of that golden crystal.  
  
After a futile search for an entryway, Darien left the room. For some   
unknown reason, he feels drawn toward another large white door at the top   
of a tall gray marble staircase. The staircase winds up the crystal  
building like a snake curling around the trunk of a tree. It appears   
that the door leads to the only room at the very top of the staircase.   
Darien lets out a long exasperated sigh, Oh no, don't tell me I have to go  
up all those steps. Darien decides that all that exercise is probably   
not worth it. He tries to turn around and walk toward another door, but an   
unseen barrier again bars his path. It appears that he has no where else to   
go except climb the steps.  
  
After some time, Darien leans against the railing of the topmost step, simply  
exhausted from the climb. Luckily I take those jogs every morning, else I  
would never live to see another day after climbing up all those steps.   
Phew! Darien takes a long observant look at the door that looms over him.   
The many phases of the moon adorns it white face. In addition, a pair of   
large white wings is etched into the uppermost part of this magnificent door.   
What a strange design for a door, thinks Darien. He reaches his hand out  
slowly to trace one of the phases of the moon. He lets his finger run along   
the edge of the smooth design of a full moon. Upon tracing the entire image,  
the moon immediately radiates a bright ray of hot white light; this triggers   
the other phases of the moon to also radiate the same light, one after the   
other. Darien covers his eyes with his hand as the whole area is bathed in   
light. For such an immense object, the door slides open silently and   
smoothly as if the hinges were sliding through slick oil. Darien squints   
through the bright light, barely glimpsing the silhouette of the slim form   
of a young woman, adorned in a short skirt with two large wings protruding   
from her back; in one hand she holds a long rod. Help me, whispers the   
figure, Help me be free.  
  
"Who are you?" Darien shouts. But the figure did not answer him. She only   
repeated what she said but in an increasingly desperate tone, Please! Free   
me! Darien takes a cautious step closer to the figure, attempting to catch  
a glimpse of her face when suddenly a large gust of dark energy blasts him  
full in the face.  
  
Darien wakes up in a torrent of sweat. I need some air, Darien gasps.   
Standing on the balcony, Darien looks vacantly out into space. An array of   
brilliant colored lights spreads out beneath him among the buildings. The  
moon is exceptionally bright tonight. Its brilliant light rains down on   
Darien's balcony like a silk curtain. That vision, thinks Darien.   
So many times…since last week, that dream constantly pops up in my sleep.   
Why me, why am I constantly bugged with mysterious dreams? Darien looks  
up at the moon, who is that girl in my dream anyway? What is it that she   
wanted? Darien irritatingly turns around to face his apartment, then he   
remembers, To be free? Free of what? Who is holding her captive? I hope   
this isn't another of King Endymion's test. But it can't be though; this  
person is a girl. Well, I won't be able to figure anything out if I don't   
get any sleep. Whoever she is, she'll just have to wait until morning.   
With a tired sigh, Darien goes into his room and climbs into bed.  
  
The next morning, Serena finds Darien walking around absent mindedly in the   
park. "Hi Darien," Serena cries cheerfully.  
  
Darien suddenly looks up from his walk awaken by Serena's voice, "Huh? Oh, hi  
Serena!"  
  
Serena? That's a bit strange, Serena thinks. He usually calls me   
meatball-head. I wonder what's up? Serena looks into Darien's eyes   
questioningly and she saw that he is a bit disturbed about something.   
"Darien, what's wrong? You seem a bit worried about something. Anything you   
want to talk about?"  
  
Darien smiles kindly and replied, "No Serena. There's nothing wrong. I was  
just thinking about a…a…school assignment. That's all." I don't want to  
worry her, thinks Darien,. not so soon after the battle against Galaxia.  
She should have the time to enjoy the peace we're having now. Besides, it   
took us an entire week to get Serena to cheer up after the Sailor Starlights   
and Galaxia left. If I mention about the strange dream, she might think that  
another evil is coming. No she deserves her peace.  
  
[Okay, no one really knows what happened to the Sailor Starlights and Galaxia  
after the battle so this is a part I made up.]  
  
"Hey Meatball Head," Darien calls cheerfully, "I'm getting some ice cream,   
want to join me?"  
"YEAH!" Serena shouts enthusiatically.  
  
Meanwhile, Cosmos is also sitting at the ice cream store as Serenity in a   
soft flowing blue dress.  
  
[sorry for the interruption, but Serenity is Cosmos and Serena is…well…Serena.   
I used the difference in the names to distinguish between them in their   
civilian identities so you all won't be confused. Alright, Cosmos [that's   
me, not related to the story] shut up and let the poor reader continue…]  
  
Why can't I get myself to go see him? I know he will be able to help me,   
but whenever I came close to his apartment, I always get this sense of   
unbearable guilt and sorrow. What is this guilt that I am feeling? Is it   
because I blame myself for not being able to protect him, to protect all my   
friends? Yet, this guilt feels different, more painful. Unaware that   
Darien and Serena is sitting nearby, facing her, Serenity calls to the   
waiter for another banana split. Darien instantly looks up at the   
familiarity of her voice. He is aghast by the similarity between Serenity   
and Serena. "Hey Meatball Head," Darien said, "Doesn't she look exactly   
like you? I mean same hairdo and everything." Upon his comment, Serena and   
Serenity look up at the same time, incidentally meeting each other's eyes.   
Oh no, thinks Serenity, I was hoping I would not have to run into them   
like this.  
  
"You're right Darien. She does have my hair style." Serena stands up and   
walks over to Serenity, followed by Darien in an attempt to prevent her from  
doing anything embarrassing.  
  
"Excuse me," Serena begins, "But that's my hairdo."  
  
[imagine a large sweat drop down Darien's face]  
  
"So it seems," Serenity says calmly, her eyes unintentionally fell upon   
Darien's. His soft blue gaze entranced her. For a moment her mind goes   
numb and a strong emotion stirs deep within her heart. Quickly, Serenity   
blinks and turns her gaze back to Serena "But do you have a copyright on   
it?" Serena stares at her blankly.  
  
"Copyright? N-no." Serena stutters, blinking in great confusion.  
"Well then, it is not * you're * hairdo, now is it," Serenity says cockily.  
"I'm terribly sorry for bothering you like this, Miss," Darien intervenes,  
while trying to maneuver Serena away. "Come on Serena, how about a walk   
through the park." Soon the two began to walk down the block toward a large   
park nearby. Darien gives a glance back toward Serenity who sat staring at   
them. She looks just like Serena. It's amazing how much these two   
resemble each other. But from their short conversation it appears that the   
similarity is only physical. This girl doesn't act at all like Serena.   
Hmmm, I can't remember ever seeing her around before. Is she a new enemy or   
friend? Could she be related to Serena? Darien ponders thinking about how  
Reeny showed up one day and the surprise they all got when they found out   
that she is actually Neo-Queen Serenity's and King Endymion's daughter, the   
daughter of their future selves.  
  
Serenity looks at them, strolling hand in hand. Deep within her startling   
sky blue eyes, tears are beginning to force its way through. She closes her   
eyes and struggles to hold them back.   
What is this strange emotion?…Jealousy? Am I jealous at Serena?…a-at my…  
past self? Oh, but she has everything…her friends…her love…What do I have?   
Nothing. I am alone. Nothing…nothing. A few moments pass before she is  
able to regain her composure. Slowly, she rises and leaves in the opposite   
direction.  
  
That night, Cosmos once again roams silently through the city, searching   
desperately for a clue that will help her. Every time she decides to go to   
Darien's apartment, her emotions made her run away. Suddenly, a silent   
shadow steps out from behind a wall, and blocks her path.   
  
"Who is there!" Cosmos questions wearily, the star-like birthmark on her   
forehead begins to glow. The shadow bows and the streetlights catch her   
face. Cosmos gasps in disbelief, the Guardian of Time. Cosmos stares   
back into those crimson colored eyes, full of wisdom and kindness. She   
has a mission so much like mine. Both of us endured the loneliness and   
silence brought on by time. Yet, compared to me she is so strong.   
"Sailor Pluto," Cosmos whispers kindly. "Sailor Pluto how did you know…"  
  
The mysterious soldier clad in a black sailor suite smiles and answer, "When   
you opened the Time Gate, I immediately knew that someone in the Royal family  
has used the holy Gate. With the vision and Darien's account of seeing a   
Serena look alike at the ice cream shop, I instantly deduced that it had to  
be you, since Neo-Queen Serenity said that she did not summoned the Gate."   
Then in a softer and less formal tone, Pluto said, " It has been a long time  
since we last met. So how are you now, Sailor Cosmos?" By simply gazing   
into those saddened forlorn blues eyes, eyes that have seen so much pain and  
destruction, Pluto knew the answer to her question.  
  
Cosmos tries to hold back a flood of tears, but in vain. "Oh, Pluto," Cosmos  
cries. "How I have missed you. I miss you all so very much. I don't want   
to be alone any longer Pluto. Please," Cosmos cries in a broken voice, "you  
are the only one I have left. Please don't leave." Those crimson eyes   
quickly change from that of warmth to that of understanding and sympathy.   
After all, Pluto thinks, loneliness has been my companion for a very long  
time. I know all too well how it feels to be alone. The silence and the  
emptiness seem to eat away at your soul. Sometimes, even I cannot bare it,  
so I come here to a place I know I have friends waiting for me. Pluto  
opens her arms and Cosmos went into them. Holding her tight like an elder   
sister while Cosmos pours out all those years of grief held deep inside,   
Pluto whispers, "It is all right. You are no longer alone, Cosmos. I am   
here. I will help you protect the future."  
  
The future, Cosmos thinks as images of darkness and destruction invades   
her mind. That is all she seems to remember of her time, her kingdom.   
Cosmos pushes Pluto gently away, "There is no future," she whispers, turning   
her back on Pluto who stood gazing at her in amazement; her voice echoes the  
hopelessness she feels deep inside. "There is nothing but death and   
destruction. There is no longer a need to protect that which does not   
exist."  
  
"But…"  
  
"No!" Cosmos yells. She feels hot tears falling down her face. "What is   
there left to fight for, Pluto? Tell me! What is there left to believe in?!   
Everyone is dead. DEAD! I have lost to Sailor Chaos. I could not protect   
everyone." Cosmos turns and looks at the older Sailor Soldier. Her dark   
emerald-colored hair adds to a mysterious aura that seems to always surround   
this quiet warrior. Deep within those ruby eyes, past the kindness and the   
understanding shines a light as vast as time itself. No matter what she   
says, that light does not even flicker. So much courage and hope, Cosmos   
thinks, why is it that I cannot feel the same as she does? Why have I lost   
what Sailor Moon and the others have, the confidence, the courage, the   
spirit to fight?  
  
As if Pluto is able to read her mind, she said, "You have seen so much pain,  
Sailor Cosmos. Perhaps it is time you experience again what love and   
kindness is like. Maybe then you can come to understand and accept what   
destiny has set for you."  
  
"Why must it be me, Sailor Pluto? Why can't it be someone else, someone   
who is stronger than me. Perhaps I should have let Sailor Mars be the   
leader long ago. She is strong and she is not a failure like me." With   
the mention of Mars's name, Cosmos can feel her throat tighten and her eyes  
on the verge of being flooded with tears once more. Cosmos quickly turns   
away attempting to hide the tears that she fears will escape any moment.  
  
"But you are not a failure."  
  
"No, you are wrong Pluto. I AM a failure. I had let everyone die. When  
everyone needed me most, I had run away. I lost this time Sailor Pluto.   
And my defeat has cost everyone their lives. I can't handle this anymore!"  
Cosmos grabs her head as if she is fighting something deep within her mind,  
as if she is fighting against her very soul. "All my life, I have been  
fighting. I have been fighting since the Silver Millenium on the Moon,   
and I have continued to fight on to the future. We all have suffered again   
and again. The only thing that made me go on was the hope I once had that  
we will somehow create a bright and peaceful future for everyone." Then   
in bitterness with tears in her eyes she turns to Pluto and said, "But look   
before you! Look at Crystal Tokyo in the 50th century, more like look at   
what is left of Crystal Tokyo." In a softer tone she said, "When Neo-Queen  
Serenity created Crystal Tokyo I thought that finally we have reached our  
destiny. Peace is here at last. Then the Dark Moon Kingdom came and   
flattened everything, then Galaxia…and now Chaos. You were wrong Sailor  
Pluto, Eternal Sailor Moon was a fool not to have destroyed the Cauldron  
of the Stars."  
  
"But if she had, the galaxy would have ceased to exist."  
  
"Yes, but only then can we all have peace," Cosmos said softly as a tear   
runs down her cheek. What am I saying? I cannot give up…not now. Oh,   
Cosmos, Eternal Sailor Moon never gave up even when she faced against Chaos.   
But look at you, supposedly the strongest Soldier in the universe and yet   
you are saying these things? How can you Cosmos? How can you even consider   
yourself a Sailor Soldier? You are nothing but a coward! No matter what   
she says or wants to believe, deep within her heart she knows that she cannot  
turn her back on those who needed her most, the people she has sworn to   
protect.  
  
Pluto looks at her in great concern. She understands perfectly what Cosmos  
is feeling, but what she is actually saying right now is something Pluto   
just cannot comprehend. You are so different from Sailor Moon. You have  
lost everything Sailor Moon has struggled to preserve for so long. My god,  
Cosmos, what has happened to you? What have you been through that has   
destroyed your fighting soul like this? Pluto looks directly into Cosmos's  
eyes, which are mirrors to all that she had surveyed throughout the terrible  
years of warfare. She can no longer see the light, the brilliance that   
had always danced in those pairs of eminent sky blue eyes.  
  
"Do you remember what you have told us all at the Cauldron of the Stars?"   
Pluto asks softly.  
  
"I did not tell you anything."  
  
"You said that you wanted to live, that you…we will create our own destiny   
and future together."  
  
"I did not say that, Sailor Moon said that."  
  
"No," said Pluto gently, calmly. "A young girl with great hope said that.   
A hope that we all believe in." Pluto pauses for a moment as she observes   
the soldier standing beside her. She can see that Cosmos is struggling with   
her emotions. You are still strong, Serenity. All you need is to see, a   
second time, those things that made you strong. "Come you can stay with me  
in my apartment. You will pull through this, I promise." Pluto added   
placing an encouraging hand on Cosmos's shoulder, "And I will help you."   
Cosmos looks up at Sailor Pluto thoughtfully and nodded.  
  
Suddenly they heard a piercing scream coming from the far side of the city.   
Instinctively they ran to investigate.  
  
-----------------------------------  
[Nice cliffhanger isn't it? No?! Oh, well tough luck! Just kiddin'   
The story will finally have some more actions in it.]  



	4. Beginning of Darkness

by Cosmos  
  
ChibiChibi is only an alternate form of Sailor Cosmos, not Galaxia's   
starseed. So please keep that in mind and the fact that this story is manga   
related.   
  
I've decided to use English translation names for the Inner Senshi and   
Japanese names for the Outer, since I have no clue   
as to what their English translated names are. And Haruka and Michiru are   
only close friends not gay.  
It only makes it easier for me to write.  
  
Please email me and tell me what you think of my story so far.   
This story is rated PG, well some slight violence and maybe language later   
on, if you call the word damn a bad thing. Well, enough of my babbling! On   
with the show!  
Usual disclaimers: Sailor Moon and all its characters and likeliness   
belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha/Toei. English translation is made   
possible by DiC.   
  
My email address: ml_eclipse@hotmail.com]  
  
= thoughts  
[ ] = author's note  
  
==================================  
Serenity's Legend  
  
Part IV:Beginning of darkness  
  
Upon reaching the scene, Pluto gasps in shock. They see Tuxedo Mask   
lying limply on the ground calling Serena's name. The whole area is   
devastated. The surrounding trees are burned down to the very trunk.   
The grasses are also burned. The area looks as if hell had broken   
loose in the region. Pluto quickly rush toward Tuxedo Mask, Cosmos   
took an instinctive step forward to follow Pluto but she quickly decided   
that her appearance would only raise questions and concerns, something she   
wish to spare Tuxedo Mask at this moment. As silent as the night, Cosmos   
slips away.  
  
"Tuxedo Mask, are you all right?" Pluto asked in alarm. "What happened?  
Sailor Co-" But Cosmos was gone. Pluto frowns. She takes out the   
communication watch Luna gave her and called the other soldiers for help.   
Within minutes, all the soldiers arrived, except Saturn.  
  
"Oh my god!"  
"What happened?"  
"Where is Serena?"  
"Please everyone! Just be quiet. First we get Tuxedo Mask to a safe place,"   
Pluto said in a commanding voice. "Then all questions will soon be   
answered when he gains his strength."  
"Right!" Mars replied. "We can take him to my place. He'll be safe in   
the temple." The others nod in agreement.  
  
At the temple, Darien is tucked in a bed cot Chad laid out for him.   
Everyone is standing around the doorway, talking about how strange the   
incident is. Several questions regarding Serena's whereabouts rose up  
frequently during their conversations.  
  
"This must be another evil invasion," Lita says.  
"Right, but these invaders appear to be much stronger than the once we   
have encountered before," Rei says. The others nod grimly.  
"Can they be from another time, like the Dark Moon family?" asks Ami.  
"I am not quite sure." Setsuna replies. "I do not sense any distortion   
in the fabric of space and time. Although…" She ponders silently for a  
moment while the others look at her anxiously. "Although…space and   
time is not exactly normal." Setsuna chooses her words with extreme care.  
"What do you mean Setsuna?" Michiru asks urgently.  
"Well…space and time together makes up a domain of the universe consisting   
in four dimensions. Usually with space-time travel a time hole is   
created by the traveler to the time they wanted to go. The hole or   
distortion will remain until that traveler returns to his or her right   
place in time."  
"Much like a warp hole?" Haruka asks.  
"Yes, but warp holes disappear soon after the traveler passes through.   
Although I do not sense any distortion of such a kind at the moment,"   
Setsuna hesitates for a brief moment, then continues, " I do sense a   
space-time drift."  
  
Rei narrows her eyes. Her gaze instinctively flickers from the floor to   
Setsuna's face. She noticed the slight hesitation on Setsuna's part   
during her explanation. What is it that you are not telling us, Setsuna?   
What are you trying to hide? Rei looks directly into those deep crimson   
eyes, her gaze steady, perhaps even challenging. You are not telling us   
the whole truth, Sailor Pluto. Why? Rei speaks telepathically to Setsuna  
alone. Her expression unchanging, Setsuna looks away.  
  
"What is that?" Mina asks exasperatingly. She knits her brows together in   
frustration, looking from Setsuna to Haruka then back to Setsuna again.   
She appears to be in great anxiety in her attempt to understand Setsuna's  
scientific explanation.  
"There is a certain bond or relation between space and time that holds  
it together but currently that relation appears to be drifting apart."  
Ami's eyes widen in horror while Haruka frowns, whether in worry or in   
desperately trying to make ends meet with Setsuna's explanation it is   
uncertain.  
"What the world does that mean?" Rei cries in annoyance. Everyone can   
always depend on Rei to demand things to be clarified.  
"It basically means Rei," Ami helpfully explains, "that the universe is   
falling apart. Something is destroying the universal balance."   
Immediately a wave of gasps filters through the group of girls.  
"Where is Serena?" Mina asks suddenly.  
"The princess is in terrible danger," a voice replies solemnly.  
Everyone turn to look at a small pale young girl standing outside under   
the bright moonlit night.  
"Danger? Hotaru what do you mean?" Haruka asks.  
"No kidding she is in danger!" Rei pipes. "Tuxedo Mask knocked to   
kingdom come, crying for Serena in a hell hole, and now you tell us   
the princess is in danger? Even a Nega-creep can figure that out!"  
"Rei, please! Keep it down won't you?" Lita says desperately. "You   
might disturb Darien. He needs all the rest he can get to recover."   
Rei looks guiltily down at the floor.  
  
"I understand perfectly well how you feel, Rei, " Hotaru responds. "I   
do not know exactly what happened, but I can sense her feelings of fear, "  
Hotaru replies to Haruka. "And…and something else, something I cannot   
quite understand. Everyone we must find the princess quickly. I fear   
that we do not have much time. With the passing of each second her soul  
is dying." Everyone gasp in shock.  
"This is so strange!" Lita comments. "Her soul…dying? But how-"  
A cry within the temple broke Lita off, "SERENA!"  
"Darien!" Everyone exclaims simultaneously. "Here we go again!" Rei groans.  
Just as they reach the doorway to the bedroom where Darien is placed, an   
array of sharp edged darts in the form of red roses flew pass them   
slamming into the nearby wall.  
"What the-?" Mina exclaims, barely escaping that fast moving weapons.  
"Someone quickly hold him down before he destroys my temple!" Rei cries.  
Lita and Haruka both run toward him and each holds onto his arm, pressing   
them down against the bed cot. Suddenly a bucket of water slams into  
them. Both turn to see Rei holding a water bucket. "Rei, what the  
world do you think you're doing?" Haruka cries out angrily, her bangs   
dripping water into her raging blue eyes.  
"Huh? Hey where am I?" Darien says slowly.  
"To wake psycho here up," Rei replies, but there is no anger in her voice.  
"Darien, how do you feel?" Hotaru asks gently.  
"Like firefighters using me as their target practice," is the answer.  
"Umm…" Rei speaks up, her eyes darting to the ceiling, the bucket behind   
her back, "That would be me."  
"Huh?" Darien shakes his head. "Serena. Where is Serena?" Darien looks   
around the room wildly. Upon seeing no sight of her he cries out, "NO!  
She has her. She has taken her!"  
"Who Darien?" Setsuna asks.  
"Who has taken Serena?"  
"Where is she?"  
Multitudes of questions are thrown at him, but all he does is simply   
shake his head.  
"Oh, this is like talking to a brick wall," Rei cries out exasperatingly.  
"He is too out of it to answer anything right now. Maybe another   
bucket of ice cold water might bring him to his senses."  
Upon hearing Rei's comment, Haruka quickly grabs the bucket from her  
hand in order to prevent another down pour. And Darien, with hands   
waving frantically in front of his face in defense quickly says, "NO! No.  
That won't be necessary Rei. I am wide awake now." Afraid that   
Rei might not take him by his words, Darien opens his eyes wider in   
a gesture to say that he is truly awake and has come to his senses.  
"Everyone please!" Setsuna shouts desperately. "Let Darien think for   
a moment. You all are going to overload his circuit with all those   
questions. Now Darien, please tell us what had happened to you two   
out there in the park?"  
Darien runs his hand through his tangled hair gravely as he told them   
what had happened, "We were only taking an evening stroll along the   
path when suddenly a woman with dark purple hair appeared out of no   
where in a gust of wind…  
  
[flashback]  
  
"Who are you?" Darien shouted.   
The woman laughed in a trill voice, "No one you would want to mess   
with pretty boy. All I am here for is the girl. Hand her over and I   
will leave you alone."  
Darien's eyes widened, Serena? What does this stranger want with her?   
"Never you witch! I will never let you have her." Darien pulled Serena   
behind him protectively.  
  
"Find then fool!" The woman shouted angrily. "I will teach you a lesson  
for refusing my demand." She raised her hands above her head and   
large circular razor blade-like disks of dark lightning appeared,   
spinning above her head. The disks were quickly thrown at the two in   
front of her. Darien threw a red rose against the attack, but the disks  
just simply sliced through it and slammed into him. The incredible   
force threw both of them back against a nearby tree. Serena's locket   
flew out of her pocket.  
  
"Darien," Serena called. "How dare you hurt my boyfriend, you witch!"  
She screamed in rage. She reached in her pocket for her locket but   
found that it was not there. Oh no. My locket! Where is my locket?  
Serena thought while her hands frantically searched the ground around her.  
  
"What are you look for you little twit?" Serena looked up to meet  
the glowing red gaze of the woman, who was smiling evilly down at   
her. The woman reached out a hand and grabbed Serena by the neck,  
lifting her up until her feet can no longer reach the ground.   
I can't breath, thought Serena. Desperately she tried to call out   
to Darien for help, but the woman's grip only tightened painfully.   
Darien looked up to see Serena being choked by the stranger. He gritted  
his teeth in rage and with a flash of light he transformed into Tuxedo  
Mask.  
  
"Let her go!" Tuxedo demanded. At the sound of his voice, the woman   
looked over her shoulder. Her eyes were glowing even redder then before.  
"Why should I?" she said in a deadly tone. Suddenly ten red roses  
were shot at her, but the roses simply got deflected off an invisible  
force surrounding her. No matter what he tried, he simply cannot  
penetrate the field around her.  
  
"Idiot! Your powers are no match for me." Then she blasted him again   
with the strange dark disks. The force threw him far down the trail.   
"No, Daaa-r-iiii-en!" Serena gasped.  
The woman started to glow eerily in red light. "Don't worry little   
man," she says teasingly. "You will see your precious flower again.   
Once we poison it!"…  
  
[end flashback]  
  
"And then she and Serena disappeared," Darien says edgily. Rei looks  
into his eyes astonished at the magnitude of the fury shown in them.  
Never before has she seen such anger and hatred in those mysterious  
deep blue eyes. What she saw made her slightly fearful of him, but   
she understands all too well how he is feeling. Serena is her best  
friend. They must find her and bring her back.  
  
Unbeknownst to Rei is the fact that Serena will be seeking them and   
finding them instead.  
  
==============================  
[hmmmm...interesting ending...well next chapter coming soon!] 


	5. The Dying Light

First things first! I'd like to thank all those who have emailed me.  
They are: StarGazer, Polgara, and Donnelaith.  
Thanks for all your wonderful and encouraging comments.  
Donnelaith has a nifty fanfic titled "Thicker Than Water". Go and read  
her Fanfic people! (AFter you finish mine of course!(^_-)  
  
All right! Here are the rest of the chapters to my story that you have been  
waiting for. Let us continue on starting with Chapter 5, shall we?  
Please keep that in mind the fact that this story is manga   
related.   
  
I've decided to use English translation names for the Inner Senshi and   
Japanese names for the Outer, since I have no clue   
as to what their English translated names are. And Haruka and Michiru are   
only close friends not gay.  
It only makes it easier for me to write.  
  
Please email me and tell me what you think of my story so far.   
This story is rated PG, well some slight violence and maybe language later   
on. Well, enough of my babbling! On with the show!  
  
Usual disclaimers: Sailor Moon and all its characters and likeliness   
belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha/Toei. English translation is made   
possible by DiC.   
  
My email address: ml_eclipse@hotmail.com]  
EMAIL ME! My inbox is starving to death! (^_^)  
  
= thoughts  
[ ] = author's note  
===========================================================  
  
O' Rose thou are sick. The invisible worm,  
That flies in the night  
In the howling storm  
Has found out thy bed of crimson joy  
And his dark secret love does thy life destroy.  
Blake  
  
[Can you guess where you may have heard that poem in SM?]  
  
  
Serenity's Legend written by Cosmos  
  
Part V: The Dying Light  
  
  
"Who are you?" Serena screams in the darkness. She can hear laughter   
all around her, evil, mocking laughter aimed at her, but she cannot   
see anyone through the brooding darkness. "Why did you bring me here?   
What is it that you want?"  
  
"I have been waiting for you to ask that question," says a haunting   
voice somewhere in the darkness. Serena hears sneering laughter all   
around her. The laughter comes from all directions. The darkness seems   
to surround her in a tight grip and squeezes her slowly until she feels   
that her very life is oozing out of her body. The laughter swirls   
around her in the darkness, mocking her. Suddenly she feels dizzy and   
grabs her head. Somehow she senses that the room itself is spinning in   
circles before her eyes. I must get out of here, she thinks   
desperately.  
  
"Moon Eternal Power!" she screams…but nothing happens. "Whuh?…It…didn't   
work." Again she hears the same sinister laughter, "You cannot   
transform here, Eternal Sailor Moon. Your power is too weak to defy   
mine."  
  
No…no…why can't I transform? her mind thinks desperately.   
w-w-what am I going to do? Darien! her mind screams. Darien,   
please!…help me! Everyone! Where are you? Please…anyone…please…   
her mind begs in desperation. Feelings of utter despair and   
hopelessness engulf her. And realization dawned on her like a slab   
of brick…she is alone…and no one will save her…not this time.  
  
"What is it that you want," Serena asks again in an almost tearful   
and frightened voice.  
  
"Your life," came the solemn reply, "I want your soul and body."  
  
"Why are you doing this to me?" Serena screams out in anguish as she   
feels the darkness closing in on her. She feels a strange dark force   
invading her mind and slowly taking control of it. The laughter   
and darkness, in addition to the fear and desolateness, slowly breaks   
down her resistance and eats away at her soul.  
  
That dark voice speaks again, "Soon Sailor Moon, your power and your   
being will be mine. And I will use it to destroy all that you have   
treasured and love. With you under my control all of space and time   
will finally belong to me." Serena hears a spine-chilling trill   
followed by a sinister laughter that causes her skin to get goosebumps.   
She tries to fight against the invading darkness that she knows is   
seeping into her soul, darkening it. I cannot let it win, she   
thinks determinedly, whatever that IT may be. She feels as if she   
is fighting a loosing battle from the beginning. This is something   
she has never before encountered, and it is scaring her to death.   
This darkness overcoming her numbing mind is spreading through her   
body like heat from a fire, slowly, gradually taking over and there   
is nothing she is able to do to stop it. Even as she is desperately   
trying to figure out a way to free herself, she can feel her soul and   
mind giving up on her. This is nothing like the brainwashing she has   
experienced from Prince Diamond or the Wiseman from the Dark Moon Family.   
At least with brainwashing, she knows what she is dealing with, but   
this…this strange flow…almost like she is drinking an elixir that she   
just can't stop herself. She feels as if she is fighting against   
herself, much less against an embodied thing, with neither shape, face,   
sound, nor sense.  
  
"WHO ARE YOU?" Serena screams in pain as the darkness spreads deep   
within her mind, distorting everything in it. Her memories of the past  
and those of the present runs together, mixing into a jumble of   
visions neither recognizable nor clearly remembered. Visions of the   
Sailor Soldiers, Reeny, the Moon Kingdom, Darien, everything gradually   
fades and disappears entirely. All that is left is the emptiness and   
the cruel driving force of that strange darkness.  
  
As the darkness takes control of more of her mind, Serena can feel her   
strength weakening. She can sense her soul loosing its grip on her   
body and her mind on reality. Everything fades gradually, reality   
fades like the light of a dying star. That is just what she has become   
now, a dying star.  
  
"Do not fight me, Serenity," the voice invades her weak mind like a   
roaring thunder, "Instead you should rejoice that you will soon be on   
my side…sister." Serena's eyes widen in shock and disbelief.  
"W-W-What?" Serena struggles to speak. "What did you just say?"  
"Do you not know?" The voice asks mockingly, though not with surprise.   
"We are sisters you and I. We both came from the same origin, the   
Cauldron of the Stars. You are the light, and I am your counterpart."   
A silence envelops them both, Serena senses that the dark being is   
smiling evilly down at her, seeming to enjoy her pain and suffering.   
Then a face appears out of the closing shadows. Serena struggles to   
look up to see who is her captive. What she saw horrifies her. Meeting   
her gaze is the mirror image of herself. Yet, instead of blue eyes,   
the face looks at her through eyes that do not contain any color or   
pupils. It appears like swirling black empty void that can swallow one's   
soul by a simple gaze. "I am Chaos."  
  
"Nooooooo!" Serena screams in pain as her soul shrivels and dies. She   
falls to her knees, grabbing her head as the last image in her mind fades   
away. She feels a strange coldness suddenly clutching her heart and   
freezing it into hard stone ice. She now realizes that this is one   
battle that she cannot win. The pain and heaviness forced upon her by   
the conquering darkness made her crouch low on the floor, holding her   
aching head. The darkness made its last strike and her soul slowly   
leaves her body. As a crystal tear, the only source of humanity that   
is now left in her, leaves her eyes and slides down her pale cheek,   
Serena suddenly realizes what will happen after this moment. A strange   
vision of what will be flashed faintly, quickly in her dying mind. For   
that split second, she saw her herself holding a single red rose, and   
from the rose droplets of blood oozes out. She realizes that the rose   
is dying, and *she* is killing it. Sadly, she whispers in a dying voice,   
"Forgive me my friends…for what I will do." With a last desperate gasp,   
Serena closes her eyes and the darkness swallows her. Suddenly the Silver Crystal radiates   
with intense light and disappears.  
  
Sailor Chaos looks at what had just occurred before her in solemn   
silence. A cruel contorted smile appears on her thin black lips.   
This is what she has been waiting for. Her quest for total conquest   
of the universe has been barred by a single Sailor Soldier whom she   
despises incredibly, and now with Sailor Moon as an addition to her   
army, this other soldier will be no match against her. Finally the   
strongest Sailor Soldier in the Galaxy, Eternal Sailor Moon is hers to   
control. And she will use her to defeat the Soldier of the Universe.   
The strongest soldier in the galaxy against the strongest soldier of the  
universe, hmmm…this will be a battle to see, Chaos thinks, and the   
outcome is as good as mine. The body lying before her slowly darkens   
and a strange aura surrounds it. The brooding darkness around Chaos   
seems to be waiting for her to give a command to commence something that  
will inevitably change the future, forever.  
==============================================  
  
[A bit dark isn't it? But don't worry, my story will not stay that way.  
Things are really rolling now! On to the next chapter…]  



	6. The Encounter

Please keep that in mind the fact that this story is manga   
related.   
  
I've decided to use English translation names for the Inner Senshi and   
Japanese names for the Outer, since I have no clue   
as to what their English translated names are. And Haruka and Michiru are   
only close friends not gay.  
It only makes it easier for me to write.  
  
I will be switching back and forth from first person to narrator style   
I will put the character's name followed by a colon to tell you   
that the following is the character's POV.  
Well, the action begins to pick up in this chapter. A new evil   
comes…Whuahahaha!  
  
Please email me and tell me what you think of my story so far.   
This story is rated PG, well some slight violence and maybe language later   
on, if you call the word damn a bad thing. Well, enough of my babbling! On   
with the show!  
  
Usual disclaimers: Sailor Moon and all its characters and likeliness   
belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha/Toei. English translation is made   
possible by DiC.   
  
My email address: ml_eclipse@hotmail.com  
  
= thoughts  
[ ] = author's note  
  
===========================================================  
  
Serenity's Legend written by Cosmos  
  
Part VI: The Encounter  
  
  
Two days later.  
  
A shadow runs stealthily in the night. Silent and swift as an unsuspecting   
night breeze this strange being travels directly toward a tall apartment   
building silhouetted against a bright full moon. Its swirling dark gray   
eyes stare vacantly out in front of it. Its soul is full of incredible   
darkness. Its heart is frozen in eternal stone ice, neither beating   
with blood nor feeling with any emotions. Once a part of the light,   
this creature is now under the ultimate control of total darkness and   
emptiness of chaos. This creature of the dark has only one goal in   
mind, the destruction of one certain being.   
Destroy Prince Endymion, a cruel voice echoes in the creature's   
mind. With neither a thought nor a voice, only that single command   
occupies this being's mind and soul. With deliberate speed, this dark   
thing travels quickly through the clear starlit night to its final   
destination and its ultimate goal.  
  
In a nearby park, a lone pedestrian strolling silently on a path by   
the lake can faintly hear a sad sigh once every minute. Looking   
toward the pristine lake, the walker can see a dark figure of a tall   
young man silhouetted against a clear night sky. The pale light of   
the moon falls like a curtain of stardust upon the lone figure.   
Again another sigh is heard escaping from the soft lips of the young   
man, a sigh that can break any heart. His eyes staring vacantly in   
space seeing nothing before him but only the emptiness that is consuming   
his soul. A tear slowly escapes his mysterious deep blue eyes,   
sliding slowly down his cheeks. The man clenches his hands around   
the iron railing, which he is leaning against by the lake. With   
each passing moment, his hands hold tighter onto the railing until   
his knuckles shown white, almost like the moon.  
  
A sad sigh again escapes his lips but this time a name is attached   
to the sigh, "Serena." The image of Serena being held by the neck   
with unspeakable fear in her eyes just simply would not escape his   
mind. They have been searching for Serena for the past two days, but   
it was only a wild goose chase. They had no leads. Mercury can't   
even track her down on her computer. "How could I?" Darien whispers   
to himself, "How could I have let her be taken away from me? I was   
suppose to protect her, to keep her safe." Shaking his head in utter  
hopelessness, he breathes, "I'm so sorry Serena. I failed you didn't I?  
I'm so sorry. It's all my fault." His repeats the last line over   
and over until his voice trails off to a point inaudible to any other  
person nearby. Silently he sobs. His tears drifting down onto the   
lake surface creating small ripples across its otherwise still face.   
The ripples cause the moon to dance across the face of the lake like   
a tiny fairy. For several hours Darien cries softly onto the lake,   
unaware that another being is watching him quietly within the shadows,   
its heart is as torn as his.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Aaaarrgh!" a raging voice screams from a balcony in an apartment   
building. "Where is he?" the dark being yells angrily, while dark   
eyes gaze wildly down at the sparkling city below it. "Where IS he?"   
Then an evil smile creeps up on soft pink lips, "You can hide Darien,"   
the being says in a chilling sing-song voice, "but you can't hide for   
long!" it almost screams. "I'll find you…no matter where you are!"   
it whispers in a low deadly tone. The room slowly fills up with evil   
energy as that dark energy seeps out from all pores on this creature's   
skin. Suddenly, a dark swirl of energy appears in front of the   
creature's face, solidifying into a glowing spiky stone. A small   
image appears from within the stone and a cold voice is heard.   
"Do not be upset, my little one," the voice drawls.   
"I have located him for you. Go to the park. He is there.   
He is waiting for you." Then the image and the crystal disappear   
entirely. The ends of the lips curve in a slight smile and the  
dark being lets out a low evil laughter, "I told you I will   
find you. And now you are mine. Ready mouse? The cat has come   
to play." Like a shadow, the creature jumps off the balcony and  
on to a rooftop nearby where it disappears into the shadows where   
it originally came from.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Sailor Cosmos:  
  
I see his figure slump over the railing, shaking as sobs   
wrack his body. My heart aches to see him in so much pain…so  
much sorrow. I know what he lost. Pluto told me about the whole  
incident two days ago. Now I feel anger boiling up deep within me.   
My hands clench tight against my sides, so tight that my knuckles   
grow white. I know who is behind all this. Somehow she must have   
followed me, but why? Does she truly know that I am here? She must,   
that is why she sent a minion of hers to follow me. But what did   
she want with Serena? She has no grudge against Sailor Moon and she   
doesn't know that Sailor Moon is my past self, so the idea of   
changing the future through me is not her plan. Yet, why did she capture   
Serena?… Oh, God, he is crying again. He is blaming himself for   
all this. My love…it is not your fault…but mine. I have the power to   
stop all this…but I am a fool…a coward.  
  
How my hands itch to hold you in my arms, to whisper to you assurances   
and stop your rain of tears. Why is it that whomever gets involved   
with me must suffer? I have never felt so helpless in all my life like   
I do now. I have vowed long ago that I would protect you, as you have  
protected me, Darien. But unlike you, I have failed.  
  
I long to feel your warmth and strength again, Darien. How I miss   
that nickname you used to always call me. I miss everything about   
you. No…no…stop this pain…stop this pain! I say through clenched teeth.   
Don't cry my darling. I will protect you…this time I will, even if it   
costs me my life…I will not let you suffer anymore.  
  
A tear slides down my cheek to be lost to the darkness on the ground.   
My heart feels like it has been cut up into millions of pieces with   
a dull knife. My breath comes in soft quick gasps as if the sorrow   
itself is choking me. I want to run…run to him and hold him in a tight   
grasp as if afraid that he will leave me…again. Death had claimed him   
in the future…death had claimed them all in the future, but sorrow   
will not claim them now…and Death itself shall die in my hands.  
  
I can no longer stand to see him suffer like this. I can no longer bare   
the pain that I sense in him. A pain I KNOW he is suffering from,   
because he and I have always had this special bond. I suffer what he   
suffers. No! No! I can't take this anymore! Darien…  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The figure in the shadow is about to move from behind the tree, to run   
as her heart and soul demands her to run…to him and comfort him. As she   
is about to step into the light of the moon, a spine chilling laughter   
stops her dead in her tracks. She can see that he has also tensed and   
is now looking wildly around him, searching for the source of the sound.  
  
"What the-," Darien whispers, looking wildly around him. Suddenly, about   
three feet from where he is dark mists form in the midnight sky. A   
strange red glow slowly increases in strength from the center of the mist.   
In a flash of red brilliance, a figure appears floating in the air above   
him, laughing hysterically.  
  
"Well…well…well," the figure says impudently. "What do we have here? A   
toy mouse for a cat to play."  
  
That voice, Darien's mind thinks hazily. His emotions flaring up   
uncontrollably as recognition of the voice strikes him like a bolt of   
lightning. That voice…Can it possibly be? Hesitantly, with hope   
glowing in his sapphire eyes, he looks up and takes in a sharp breath   
as he sees the being that floats above him. His deep blue gaze clashes   
with dark gray swirls. "S-S-Serena?"  
  
The figure looks down at him without recognition. Dressed in a Sailor   
outfit similar to what was Eternal Sailor Moon's, but instead of white   
angel wings, she has black bat-like wings. The white parts of her   
outfit is now a dark black that seems to absorb any light that may dare   
to shine on it. Her boots are laced from the bottom up in black silk.   
The ruffles on her skirt are now in the forms of dangerously sharp   
daggers dangling to her thighs. Short black spikes stick out from her   
dark gray gloves at the elbow. A strange, surprisingly golden tiara   
adorns her forehead with a black crystal darker than night itself  
placed at its center.  
  
"Who is this Serena you are calling me?" she hisses. "I guess it is  
best you should know your executioner before you die. Meet Death,   
Endymion…for I will be the one to lead you to him. I am Darkness."  
  
Darien's eyes widen in horror. "No," he whispers, then speaking louder   
says, "No, you are Serena…my love." He takes a step forward, his mind   
unclear and dizzy from the shock that now hits him like a roaring wave   
on an open shoreline. "Serena…please Serena fight it…I love you…don't   
let this thing take you away from me!" Darien shouts in a most agonizing   
voice. His heart batting against its prison in his chest like a scared  
bird in its cage, trying to break free. His emotions of distress and   
sorrow overflow the brim of his soul. No…what have…they done…to you?  
  
"SHUT UP!" Darkness screams. Something flickers in her dark eyes, but   
soon disappeared; but not fast enough that Darien did not notice.   
"Your little distraction won't work, little boy! Your death has now   
arrived…bye…bye!" Darkness says in a teasing voice. She raises her   
hand and an immense ball of energy gathers in them. Her eyes glow in   
a strange aura as she shoots the energy towards Darien. Quickly,   
guided by the instinct of a soldier, Darien dropped to the ground   
and rolled away. The dark energy ball whizzed by his head just   
barely missing him.  
  
Darien jumped to his feet and reached into his black leather jacket only   
by instinct. Deep in his heart, he knows he can never fight her.   
Darkness noticed this movement and immediately released another ball of   
energy. She is too quick. Darien had no time to react as he saw the   
attack flying toward him.  
  
"Noooo!" a scream rings out, echoing through the park in a heart-wrenching   
cry. "Daaarrriiieeenn!" Sailor Cosmos saw the energy hit him on the   
side and threw him at an incredible distance against a tree. He fell   
in a broken heap. Cosmos quickly noticed that Darkness has released   
another ball of energy at him. She knew that if this hits him, he   
would surely be killed. Cosmos quickly rushes towards him. Placing   
herself between him and the oncoming attack, she whispers something   
beneath her breath. Suddenly a flash of bright hot light appears in   
front of her and a long ivory colored rod appears. Auras of white   
light pulses from it like the beating of the heart and immense light   
radiates from the star-like crystal on top of the rod. The dark   
energy slams into an invisible shield she created with intense force   
that rips the leaves off of the nearby trees. Yet, Cosmos barely   
moved an inch. Her foot firmly planted to the ground it touches. In   
lightning movements, she whirls her rod in front of her like a   
propeller as bright energy flows toward the center of the disk her   
rod creates, gathering in intensity. She lets loose her still twirling   
rod to float just inches before her fingertips and shouts, "Cosmic   
Eternal Moon Silver Twister!" A swirl of bright energy shoots from   
the center of the rod and hits Darkness directly in the chest before   
the evil being even has time to react. Darkness fell from the sky   
and landed on the ground in a heavy thud. "No!…You! Who the *hell*   
are you? How dare you intervene," Darkness says between clenched teeth.   
Sailor Cosmos does not reply. She simply stood there, her eyes   
narrowed to barely slits as blue pupil shine brightly through them,   
giving them an almost catlike appearance.  
  
"You want him?" Cosmos whispers in a low deadly tone, "Then come and   
get him, but I warn you...that won't be easy."  
  
"Stop it right there!" a shout from behind Darkness rings in the air.   
"You are not going to capture Darien!"  
  
Both Darkness and Cosmos release their gazes on each other and turn   
to look at eight *very* angry Sailor Soldiers glaring at them. At   
first their eyes illuminate no light of recognition, but as they stare  
at the dark figure, the similarity quickly triggers apperception.   
Mars gasps, as well as the others when they finally realize who   
Darkness resembles. "Sail-Sailor Moon?"  
  
Being incredibly weakened from the blast taken from Cosmos,   
Darkness realizes that she does not stand a chance against all   
nine of them, especially against Cosmos. Darkness turns her icy   
stare back at Cosmos and hisses, "We will meet again."  
  
"I'm counting on it," Cosmos replies in equal coldness. Darkness   
vanishes in a whirl of gray mist, leaving all eight confused gazes   
to land upon the white figure standing in front of Darien's slump body.  
  
Ignoring the eight stares, she bends down and asks in a quivering   
voice, "Darien?"  
  
No answer. "Darien? Please, speak to me?"  
  
Still no answer. Her eyes widen in terror, "No, no Darien please   
don't die…you can't leave me…not again." She held his hand, squeezing  
it tight as tears overflow the brim of her startling crystal   
blue eyes. Suddenly she felt him squeeze back. "Huh!" she gasps.   
"Darien? Darien are you all right?"  
  
He groans in pain as a response. "W-w-what h-happen?"  
"Everything is all right now Darien. She will not hurt you again.   
I promise."  
Familiar he thinks. That voice is so familiar. This warmth…  
He looks up and finds a shining blue gaze looking down at him with  
worry and sorrow. Those startling blue eyes are like bright blue   
beacons shining on a lovely face that looks so familiar to him.   
Suddenly a young, but strong voice from the other side made   
her shift her gaze to look at Super Sailor Jupiter who is running   
towards them.  
  
"Get away from him!" she screams, her voice like daggers in the   
silent night. Cosmos quickly steps away from Darien, though very   
reluctantly. Jupiter quickly kneels down to Darien and asks,   
"Darien? Are you all right? Has she hurt you?"  
  
Darien blinks his hazy eyes and looks up again. Instead of   
startling blue, he now saw strong, kind green eyes gazing down   
at him. As his head began to clear, Darien attempts to get up.  
  
"No Darien! You're hurt. You should stay down."  
"No," he whispers weakly. "I'm fine. Just…just got the wind   
knocked out of me that is all."  
  
"Who are you? What were you doing to Darien?" Mars shouts at   
Cosmos, who stood quietly staring at Darien as he attempts to stand.  
  
"Hey! She is talking to you! Are you deaf?" Uranus shouts with a   
fist rising threateningly at Cosmos. Cosmos shifts her gaze to   
look up into Uranus' blazing dark blue eyes, but she does not   
respond. She simply stood there taking in the many glares that   
she is getting from the female soldiers.  
  
"Well?" Mars demand.  
This time Cosmos responds, "Well what?"  
"Don't play dumb with us," Uranus says in a low icy tone, taking  
a threatening step toward her. Cosmos does not move.  
  
A groan from Darien caught all of their attention and the girls   
quickly left Cosmos and went to see if he is all right. Cosmos  
turns and walks quietly away. "Stop!" Uranus shouts. "We are not   
through with you. Who the HELL are you?" she demands.  
  
"Yes," Darien speaks up, his strength returning to his tired body.   
"Who are you?"  
  
Upon hearing his voice, she stops.  
  
"Who * are * you?" he asks again, weakly taking a small step towards   
her with Jupiter slightly supporting him all this time. She hesitates   
for a moment before turning around to face, she knows, the most   
beautiful gaze that she now feels piercing her back. Turning   
around she gives a quick glance, just a flicker of her eyes, towards   
the Guardian of Time, whom quietly nods. Permission has been granted.   
The time has come.  
  
Gathering all her strength and courage, she stood straight up and   
speaks in a calm and strong voice, "I am Sailor Cosmos."  
  
===================================================  
[Kind of a dumb way to end, huh? But I feel that it is best to end   
here since this part is getting a bit long. Well, next chapter coming   
soon. Oh! Remember to email me and give your opinion on this okay?   
Email to : ml_eclipse@hotmail.com.]  



	7. True Identity

Please keep that in mind the fact that this story is manga   
related.   
  
I've decided to use English translation names for the Inner Senshi and   
Japanese names for the Outer, since I have no clue   
as to what their English translated names are. And Haruka and Michiru are   
only close friends not gay.  
It only makes it easier for me to write.  
  
This story is rated PG, well some slight violence and maybe language later   
on. Well, enough of my babbling! On with the show!  
  
Usual disclaimers: Sailor Moon and all its characters and likeliness   
belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha/Toei. English translation is made   
possible by DiC.   
  
My email address: ml_eclipse@hotmail.com  
  
= thoughts  
[ ] = author's note  
  
More Author's note at bottom. I advise that those who do not   
like this chapter or the way I portray Sailor Cosmos here   
to please read the note at the bottom. And those who do   
like it, well you have a choice. Thanks! Enjoy!]   
===================================================  
  
Serenity's Legend written by cosmos  
  
Part VII: True Identity  
  
"I am known as Sailor Cosmos, soldier of mists, guardian of all   
of universal space and time."  
Her beautiful voice pierces the crisp night air like a beam of   
light through clear crystal. The others gasp in surprise. They   
have heard of this legendary warrior from the Asteroid Soldiers,   
but they never believed it to be true, nor did they ever expect   
to come face to face with this mysterious being.  
  
[Asteroid Senshi are Sailor Soldiers from the Asteroid belt. They   
are at first the Amazoness Quartets whom were destroyed and turned   
into crystals which Serenity revived into the Asteroid Senshis.   
They are not in the Anime. They were the ones who last saw Cosmos   
in the Manga, so they knew of her existence. Sorry for such a long   
author's note.]  
  
Silence enveloped the group like a thick London fog. The atmosphere   
is uneasy and there seems to be tension hanging in the air like a   
delicate silk web spun by an invisible spider. Taking a hesitant   
step forward, her heel clicks on the ground releasing the   
prisoners from the hold of silence, Sailor Venus speaks in an   
unsure voice, "Y-you are the legendary soldier?" she whispers   
in awe. "Have you come to help us free Serena?" Then silence   
captures them all again. Though it was only for a brief moment,   
it seemed like an eternity before they hear the figure in white  
reply.  
  
Her voice is like the soft caressing of a breeze, yet her   
words are like daggers in the night, "I  
* really * don't have a choice do I?" She speaks bitterly.   
"If I don't, the future ahead will be changed." And she gives   
Sailor Pluto a sharp glance, adding in a poignant tone, "Though   
I wish it would."  
  
"Wha-what do you mean?" Sailor Neptune questions in great concern.   
At this point Cosmos can no longer hold back her emotions.   
All the pain, the sorrow, the suffering she has seen and has felt   
locked deep within her now icy heart spills out in great bitterness   
and frustration…against herself.  
  
"What I mean," she yells in anger, but her voice only relays sorrow   
and anguish, "is that I  
*want * the future to change! I * want * it all to end!" In a   
quieter voice, she repeats broken hearted the last phrase, barely   
audible to the group staring at her in bewilderment not seven feet   
away, "I want it all to end. All the pain, the sufferings,   
the destruction…the…the deaths." Her eyes now brimming with tears,   
tears that she refuses to spill.  
  
Suddenly, Jupiter's voice is heard thundering back at her,   
"That's why we * must * save Sailor Moon, " she shouts angrily.   
"*She* is the one who can stop all this. *She* is the one who   
can bring light to the darkness. In the future she--"  
  
"--is the cause of all this!" Cosmos cries, cutting Jupiter   
off in surprise. "Can't you see? The future is not what you   
think it will be. It never is. It is * not * the all utopian   
world of Crystal Tokyo! It will be the darkness where only Chaos   
exists. Sailor Moon had a chance back at the Cauldron of the   
Stars to end the Sailor Wars, but she didn't. Instead, she chose   
to believe that she could create a brighter future, that she   
had the capability to do so. She thought she had the strength to   
defeat the darkness and bring forth the light. But she is wrong."   
Cosmos turns aside and says in a lower tone full of regret,   
"…so very wrong. What had she done, but bring only more suffering   
to the ones she loves? It is because of her…her * damn * power   
that always lures the darkness."  
  
"YOU ARE WRONG!" Mars screams in hysteria. "YOU ARE SO *DAMN* WRONG!  
She is not at all what you say she is! She is kind, considerate,   
full of life and laughter and she gives others her light freely   
without a care. Even though you're the strongest Sailor Soldier,   
you are *nothing* compared to her. She is *more* than what   
you will *ever* be!" Mars yells in great anguish, tears streaming   
down her face uncontrollably. Her body shakes with the rage   
that she feels against this being, this insolent soldier who   
dares to scorn her dearest friend.  
  
Sailor Pluto looks at Sailor Cosmos with indescribable sadness   
on her face. She can see very well that each word Mars throws at   
her causes Cosmos to flinch and withdraw upon herself. Unbeknownst   
to Mars that each word let fly in rage is like daggers tearing   
at Cosmos' soul. Yet, Cosmos yells back, rage now controlling   
her…and guilt. Guilt that none of them knew except her. She   
blames herself for all her friends' death. She had sworn to   
protect them, yet they died, and because of what? Because of her   
and now in a fit of rage she brings out that guilt that have so   
long haunted her.  
  
"Why do you care for her?" Cosmos yells in blind anger. "She   
brings nothing to you but pain and suffering. You have risked   
your lives time and time again for her…and why?…Because she is   
too weak…too much of a coward to defend herself and you. If it   
weren't for her you all would be living happy peaceful lives like   
everyone else, pursuing your own dreams and desires. Instead she   
dragged you into this. She dragged you into her cursed destiny   
with her!"  
  
"No!" This time it is Mercury who speaks up in defense. "NO! You   
are SO wrong! If it weren't for her we all would still be imprisoned   
in our own loneliness. The emptiness would have shriveled our   
souls now if she had not shown up. She is my friend…She is the   
only friend I had ever had!" Mercury cries in a voice that any who   
heard would have dropped to their knees in tears. In a lost tone,   
Mercury says, "She is the only *real* friend any of us had ever had."  
  
Still blind to the words thrown at her, Cosmos cries, "I should   
have known from the start that a klutz, a crybaby, an idiot, a fool   
could not be the saviour of this world."  
  
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" Uranus roars. "I have had *enough* of   
this! How dare you call yourself a Sailor Soldier? You are nothing   
but a coward. A fool scared to face her own destiny." Uranus stood   
trembling with tremendous internal rage. Suddenly she raises her   
hand and light begins to gather in it. "Now you won't have to run   
away from your destiny anymore…" Uranus says in a voice of ice,   
"because it will end here! Uranus World Shake!"   
  
"Noooo!" Pluto yells, but it is too late, Uranus has released her   
attack. The orange ball of energy flies at lightning speed directly   
at Cosmos. "Cosmos! Get out of the way!" Pluto screams, but her   
scream is left unheard by the figure in white. She simply stood   
there, her gaze never leaving Uranus' burning blue ones.   
Something in that calm sad gaze made Uranus' heart lurch in   
anguish…something like…like…forgiveness? Is she asking for forgiveness?   
Why? Suddenly, Uranus regrets what she has done, but it is too late.  
  
Even though she has all the ability to dodge the attack, Cosmos   
simply stood there with unspeakable sorrow on her beautiful face as   
she took the attack directly in the chest. The hit causes her to be   
thrown back several feet. She lay there for a moment as her head   
slowly clears from the dizziness that now encloses on her. Slowly   
she gathers her trembling legs beneath her body and attempts to stand.   
"Cosmos!" Pluto begins to run toward her, but Cosmos raises her   
hand and tells her to stop.  
  
"D-d-don't…come any closer," She barely whispers out, her chest   
heaving in pain with each intake of breath. "P-please…don't come   
any closer." Then looking at the others again, she suddenly   
catches Darien's fiery blue gaze. She notices his fist clenched   
white at his side. She locks her gaze to his and speaks in painful   
gasps, "S-she…*is* a meatball head…who doesn't deserve you."  
  
Her words have an immediate effect as she can see the flames of rage   
lurch into a bonfire of hatred in his cold blue stare. Suddenly, a   
steel tipped red rose appears in his hand and he throws it directly   
at her. Again she makes no attempts to move. The rose whizzed   
closer and lodges its sharp dagger deep into her arm. This time   
she cries out in pain, not from the wound in her arm but from the   
one in her heart. Tears begin to stream down her rosy cheeks as   
she clutches the bleeding arm with her other hand. Then everything   
seems to stop. No one moves. Even the wind appears to have halted   
in its journey around the world. Complete silence and stillness   
fills the air around them.  
  
Then as if everything has just slowed down the Sailor Soldiers see   
Cosmos close her eyes as her grip on the rose tightens. Unexpectedly,   
with only a small cry Cosmos yanked the rose from her arm. She   
opens her eyes and holds the rose directly in front of her face,   
looking at it as if enchanted by its beauty. Suddenly, crimson blood   
oozes out from between her fingers and drips down the stem onto the   
ground already soaked in red. Only then did Cosmos notice that there   
are thorns on the stem of the rose, puncturing her palm and making   
it bleed. Yet her grip on the rose does not lighten. Instead she   
raises the bloody flower to her face, closes her eyes again, and   
takes a deep breath, inhaling the rich fragrance. A large single tear   
escapes between her closed eyelids and slides down her cheek. The tear   
hangs onto the edge of her face like she is hanging onto the rose.   
Then the crystal tear rolls off her face and hits the ground at the   
same time she lets go of the rose, which also drifts to the bloody   
surface below. Before the rose strikes the ground, a bright flash   
of light erupts from Cosmos' sigil on her forehead. The female Soldiers   
and Darien quickly shield their eyes in order to prevent the intense   
light from blinding them. When they look back, the white figure has   
vanished, leaving only a faint trail of glittering stardust and small   
white feathers behind. The red rose lays floating on the surface of a   
small pool of blood on the ground.  
  
"W-where did she go?" Neptune voices. "What happened just now?"  
Instinctively, Sailor Mars turns her dark raging eyes toward the   
Guardian of Time who stands silently staring at the space formerly   
occupied by Cosmos. "You have a lot of explaining to do," Mars   
whispers in an icy tone. The others look at Mars in surprise, then   
at Pluto.  
  
"Who was she?" Darien speaks blankly; his voice has lost all emotions.   
Then turning his icy blue stare toward Sailor Pluto, he directs the   
question to her, "Who was she? Who is she really?" His cold commanding  
voice snaps her attention to him. She recognizes this tone as that   
of King Endymion's. She knows she has no options but to answer his   
question.  
  
"Sailor Cosmos…is Neo-Queen Serenity."  
  
Everyone gasps in shock. Darien's eyes widen in horror as color   
leaves his face. He lets his gaze slip from Pluto's saddened face   
to his hands. "W-w-what…have…I done?" He breathes. The image of   
his rose piercing into her arm and her crying out in pain flashes in   
his eyes. "What have I done?" he cries as tears drift down his   
cheeks. "What have I done?!" He yells falling to his knees, his fist   
pounding lightly on the ground. "I…I've hurt her. I can't believe   
what I had done. I should have known…that gaze…those beautiful blue   
eyes…I should have known it was her. God! What have I done?" He   
whispers to himself, barely audible to those near him. Uranus too   
stares at the empty air in front of her. The image of her attack hitting   
Cosmos, sending her flying backward in the air, flashes repeatedly   
in her mind. "No…no…no…" Uranus gasps in disbelief.  
  
"Where is she?" a voice rises from the ground. Pluto looks down   
at Darien, who still has his head buried to the ground. "Where is   
she?" He asks again, his voice like the wind in a sail. "Damnit!"   
He shouts in anger and anguish, "Tell me where the hell she has gone to!"  
  
"Come…follow me. I will take you to her," Pluto says in a gentle   
voice. He rises to his feet and they all followed the dark green hair   
figure ahead of them as she leads them to their destiny.  
===============================================  
[All right, if you're reading this you are probably itching to   
hit me, BUT before you do, let me explain. Just keep in mind   
that I *like* Sailor Cosmos, okay? I am not making her look weak   
and pitiful or anything. For those who read the end of the Sailor   
Moon Manga (I did via internet translation) you would probably   
noticed that Cosmos is a bit disturbed by a battle in the future.   
From what I understand this might be what she is feeling, a   
feeling of guilt or something or other. She has a heavy burden of   
responsibility to carry on her shoulders because she is the guardian  
of the cosmos. But through the long years of warfare her soul and mind  
begins to get tired under all that weight. Seeing her friends and allies  
die before her eyes only caused her more pain and sorrow. Since she has  
been alone for who knows how long because everyone else is dead, she has  
to bury her feelings deep inside her where it slowly builds up to unbearable  
proportions. Seeing her friends die and not being able to stop it,  
she feels a sense of guilt and anger at herself. At the end of the   
Manga, Serena said that she will protect her friends, so now that  
she has found she is unable to do so, she is frustrated, confused and alone  
to bear her guilt and grief. This would result in her outburst in this  
part of the story. Does that make any sense?   
Besides, my entire story won't be like this part it will get better   
and not so depressing.  
Anyway, the next chapter is the opposite of this one.   
You'll see what I mean.]  
  
So what do you think? Please email and tell me. I love to hear   
from ya'. Email me at ml_eclipse@hotmail.com. All right…next   
chapter coming soon.]  



	8. Path to the Soul

Please keep that in mind the fact that this story is manga   
related.   
  
I've decided to use English translation names for the Inner Senshi and   
Japanese names for the Outer, since I have no clue   
as to what their English translated names are. And Haruka and Michiru are   
only close friends not gay.  
It only makes it easier for me to write.  
  
This chapter will be entirely from Sailor   
Cosmos' point of view. That is why I call   
it Path to the Soul, her soul.]  
  
This story is rated PG, well some slight violence and maybe language later   
on, if you call the word damn a bad thing. Well, enough of my babbling! On   
with the show!  
  
Usual disclaimers: Sailor Moon and all its characters and likeliness   
belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha/Toei. English translation is made   
possible by DiC.   
  
EMAIL ME! MY INBOX IS STARVING!  
My email address: ml_eclipse@hotmail.com  
  
= thoughts  
[ ] = author's note  
=====================================================  
  
Serenity's Legend written by Cosmos  
  
Part VIII: Path to the Soul  
  
  
I don't know how…how I managed to transport myself to Setsuna's   
apartment, but when the light dies down, I see myself standing   
alone in the dark, in the center of her living room. I can feel   
the sticky liquid seeping through my clasped hand on my upper arm   
and fall in silent thuds to the wood floor below. The darkness   
in the room weighs heavily on my tired eyes, so much so that I had   
to struggle to the balcony in order to have the pale light of the   
moon ease the dark force from them. I struggle with every step,   
swaying like a drunkard. I clasp the balcony railing with all my   
strength to keep myself upright as I feel the room beginning to spin   
before my eyes. I felt incredibly nauseated and dizzy. I wasted my   
last ounces of strength during the teleportation and I knew I lost   
a lot of blood resulting in my weakened condition. The reality of   
my physical condition is catching up with me as I see my vision   
becoming more blurred by the minute.  
  
Unexpectedly I feel wetness on my cheeks. I raise my hand to my face   
and realize that I am still crying all this time. Words…painful   
words return to haunt me. Even though you're the strongest Sailor   
Soldier, you are *nothing* compared to her. She is *more* than what   
you will *ever* be!…She is my friend…She is the only friend I had   
ever had!…You are nothing but a coward. A fool scared to face her   
own destiny.  
  
"NO!" I cry. "no…no" my voice trails off in wracking sobs that shakes   
my entire body causing more dizziness to come to my head.   
"Mother…," I whisper to the silent moon floating above me in   
the heavens. "Mother…," I whisper again. "Mother please help me.   
I…I don't know what to do? What I should do…Please Mother, "   
I plead lifting my azure eyes to the moon, " tell me how to stop   
this…this pain that is killing me. I…I don't want to see anyone   
suffer anymore…I WANT THIS ALL TO END!!!!" I scream with all the   
anguish and the desolation that hides deep within my heart.   
I suddenly fell quiet and cry uncontrollably into my arm on the railing.  
  
I don't know how long I stood there sobbing my heart out, but   
then suddenly I hear the wind whisper in my ears, soft…quiet…almost   
like a fairy fluttering by my ears. "Serenity," the wind whispers.   
I look up slowly, not expecting to see anyone thinking that it   
was only my imagination calling me, mocking me. Yet, to my surprise   
I see a vision that makes me fall to my knees in tears.   
"Mother," I breathe. Before me, floating just a little ways   
off the balcony on which I am kneeling, a beautiful goddess appears   
in a shimmer of pure light with a pair of delicate wings that   
resembles those of a dragonfly, except these wings appear like they  
have been made of glass…so thin…so delicate. A beautiful white   
gown hugs her elegant form, flowing past her feet and spreading out   
like the petals of a white rose below her. Tears begin to flow in   
greater force down my cheeks as I cry, "Oh, mother…you came…you heard me."  
  
"Ssshhhh," She soothes, as she slowly drifts closer to me.   
I stand up and leaning far into the railing, reach my hand out   
to touch her. Her hand and mine meets. It feels like my hand is   
being caressed by the wind. Her hand is barely visible, like a   
light mist, over mine. "Do not cry, my darling, " She says.   
"You have come a long way from being Sailor Moon to Sailor Cosmos,  
guardian of the universe. It is time you accept your destiny and   
pursue it with all your might. Do not let destiny guide you   
but let it help you find your way through the mists."  
  
"But mother, " I whisper. "my destiny brings me nothing but pain.   
And it spreads sorrow to the ones I love as well. L-look at you.   
You have lost your life for me…and my friends have paid the very   
same price." She looks at me…sadly?…no…not in sadness but   
in…pride? Why would she be proud of a failure like myself, I wonder.   
She floats closer to me and holds me in her arms as the wind   
can only embrace.  
  
She whispers down to me, "Every one of us have our own destiny.   
Each one leads us on a path that we all must take. But Destiny   
does not force you to do things; instead it allows you to choose.   
What I had done was my own decision, not because of you or because   
of my destiny. You take too much of others burdens onto yourself,   
my Serenity. It is time you let others carry their own weight and   
give them the credit to choose what they wish. Your friends died   
not because it was destined for them to, but because they chose to.   
They chose to save you, my dear. They did not want to see this world   
without you in it." She takes my chin in her faint hand and lifts   
my face up to look into her beautiful cerulean eyes. "I am proud of   
you my daughter, " she whispers. "You are strong…and you are kind.   
There are few in this world who can stand under so much responsibility.   
Believe in yourself…listen to your heart…and trust in your destiny   
and the path it has led you on." Her voice trails away softly as she   
slowly fades into the night.  
  
"No…mother…don't leave me," I cry softly, but now I feel too weak to   
make any attempts to hold her back. Instead, I drift to the concrete   
surface below as I sense the darkness closing in around me. My   
conscious mind slowly lets go of the surface and I sense myself   
falling…falling…falling…into oblivion. I know I will die. I have   
lost too much blood and my spirit no longer wishes to grasp onto an   
existence that holds nothing for me. Just as I am about to let the   
darkness take me completely, I hear a faint voice…so very faint but   
it is there. It is so familiar, this voice. Yet it sounds so sad.   
Nonetheless it is this voice that prevents the darkness from taking   
me. Somehow it revives my fighting soul. No, I think, I cannot leave.   
I cannot…must not…die. Then I hear her voice in my mind again,   
Your friends died not because it was destined for them to, but because   
they chose to. They did not want to see this world without you in it.   
I must live, I think again, I must live for them in the hopes that  
maybe I will see them again, if not but in a dream.  
  
I slowly open my eyes, looking up at a fuzzy face hovering above.   
Slowly my vision clears and I see two beautiful stormy blue eyes   
looking worriedly down at me. Such strong emotions of sorrow assault   
those beautiful sapphire eyes. So sad, I think, why is this person   
so sad? Then I hear the voice again, it is this person's voice…it   
is *his* voice calling to me. He is saying something, but I cannot   
make out any sense of the sound rumbling in my ears.   
I strain harder, knitting my sweaty brows together as I try to clear   
the buzzing sound in my ears and hear what he is saying. He is…he   
is calling my name. "Serena," he is saying. "Serena you cannot   
leave me. I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry." Tears form in his eyes falling   
softly onto my face. Why is he apologizing, I wonder? He has done   
nothing wrong. I should be the one to apologize…apologize for   
letting him die so long ago. I reach a shaky bloody hand up to   
his face and whisper in a painful voice, "I can never leave you."   
He smiles. Oh! That smile of his…that smile that has captured my   
heart since the dawn of time. He is smiling, smiling just for me.   
I try to smile back but I cannot. So much pain…and…and guilt?   
A guilt that still haunts me. Yet what is it that I am guilty for,   
I do not know. It is not the guilt that I *do* know…this is a guilt   
that I do not know. So strange, I think. Suddenly I feel my lids  
grow heavy again. I cannot fight it. Slowly I close my eyes   
waiting for the cold emptiness of death to envelop me, but instead  
a strange, yet comforting, warmth spreads through my body. I sigh   
in contentment as sleep, not death, takes over my body. And I fall,   
this time, into the warmth.  
  
I do not know how long I had slept, but when I do open my eyes, it is   
still dark. Did I sleep for only an hour? Two hours? What time is   
it? I wonder. I turn around to a dim light glowing at the head of   
the…bed? How in the world did I get into my bed? If this *is* my   
bed? I turn to look at the dim light again. It is only nine in the   
evening the clock indicates. Ooh, I groan, not because of any pain,   
but because of some cramps in my arm. My arm? I remember of the   
wound and instinctively reach up to test if it is still bleeding,   
but surprisingly I can't feel anything besides smooth skin. There   
is no blood and no wound at all. I gasp in shock. How the--but a   
voice in the dark cuts me off.  
  
"Your arm is all right," the voice says in a gentle and comforting   
tone. I swivel my head around and narrow my eyes in my attempt to   
see this stranger through the darkness that is shielding him. My   
mind is still so fuzzy of the events that occurred earlier that when   
a light flickers up I took in a sharp breath in my amazement, because   
there in the corner by the bed sits…  
  
"Darien?" I ask in surprise. "How…how did you know?"  
He gives me a sad and tired smile, "Setsuna, who else?"  
  
Then silence fell over us. I feel a bit uncomfortable with the   
silence between us so I spoke up in an attempt to ease our situation.   
"Umm…so what happened to my arm?" I ask. Upon seeing the hurt   
expression in his deep blue eyes I could have thrown myself out  
of the window. Oh dumb question…dumb question! Serenity how could   
you ask such a question to him? There are just some things you will   
never learn…like never ask the person who *unintentionally* hurt   
you what happened to the wound they created. "I-I'm sorry Darien.   
I-I didn't mean to ask that."  
  
"I healed your wound, " is all that he says. I look up from the   
covers on the bed to his face and find him still staring at me   
with those hurt expressions in his eyes. I hurt him, I think,   
I hurt him again. Why is it that I always bring pain to people?   
I am about to apologize again but his actions took me by surprise.   
He suddenly stands up from where he was sitting at the end of the   
bed and moves swiftly to me, and allows his head to fall into my   
lap while he cries in great sobs that shakes his entire body.  
  
"Serena, " he speaks between sobs, "Please forgive me! I didn't   
mean to hurt you. I didn't know…I just didn't know that--"  
  
"No, Darien, " I say. He suddenly looks up at me in confusion.   
"I cannot forgive you for something that requires no forgiveness.   
I know you didn't mean to do it." I give him a reassuring smile.  
  
"Why Serena?" he speaks again, his magnificent blue eyes delve   
deep into mine, "Why didn't you tell me who you are?"  
  
I look away from him as sadness rises into my heart…and that guilt.   
"I didn't want you to get hurt." I reply, my voice relaying the   
emotions in my soul.  
  
"You can never bring me pain, Serena, " he says, now kneeling by   
my side with his hands covering mine. "The only pain that you can   
give me is if you are not there."  
  
His words bring tears to my eyes. "No, Darien, " I barely whisper   
in my attempt to control the storm that is building in my heart.   
"I have always brought you pain…you and everyone else who nears me."   
I bite my lip, closing my eyes as I struggle to hold back the tears,   
but my attempts are futile. The tears cascade down my face in   
endless streams wetting the bed cover below. Suddenly, I feel   
something warm on my lips. So gentle…so sweet. It is like I am   
kissing the silk petals of a rose. I give a soft sigh as I kiss   
him back with all the passion and longing I have locked deep inside   
this tiring soul over the past years. I feel his strong hands   
envelop my body, pulling me tighter to him. The kiss is long and   
passionate as each soul pours every ounce of emotion into it.   
Finally we broke off as our lungs scream for air. He breathes   
softly in my ear, still holding me tight to his muscular body,   
"You can never bring pain, Serena. You don't know how to."   
Normally, I would have smiled at this, but instead his words only   
broke my heart. If only he knew, I think sadly, if only he knew   
of the dark future that awaits him, that awaits them all.   
I can sense him give a tired sigh and whisper again, "Do not   
doubt yourself, my love. You *are* the light. You are *my*   
light. Without you I would be blinded by the darkness and probably   
drifted off my path into oblivion." He pulls back to look   
deep into my eyes. I can feel my heart melting in my chest.   
"Believe me, if you won't believe yourself. What I say is   
true…as true as that pure soul I see in your eyes."  
  
He slowly stands up pulling me along with him. "Come, " He says   
gently. "The girls want to see you." I nod in silence, emotional   
turmoil still conquers my heart. Then suddenly he turns and adds   
with a mischievous glint in his mysterious azure eyes,   
"Let us hope we're in time."  
  
I look at him in confusion. "In time for what Darien?"  
  
"In time to prevent them from destroying Setsuna's apartment in   
worry." He gives me one of his quirky grins that simply makes   
me want to faint. My heart eases a bit and I give out an involuntary  
giggle.  
  
The girls were talking among themselves but quickly stops when   
they see me step through the door. Six surprise stares quickly   
fell upon my face. I see that they haven't de-transform.   
Did they just arrived? I wonder. Then realizing that I haven't   
de-transform also, thinks Do they know who I am too? From   
the softening looks in their gaze I know my question is answered.   
I look at each of them slowly, taking in their faces, their eyes,   
and their liveliness. I lock each one of them into my memory   
in fear that this may be the last time I will be in their company   
again. The future still haunts me.  
  
It is then that I notice there are only six pairs of eyes looking   
back at me from the black leather couch.   
Where is Uranus? Where is Pluto?  
  
"Uranus is out on the balcony, " Mercury replies in a tight voice   
as she tries to control her inner emotions, "and Pluto is on   
the roof." I stare at her in confusion. How did she know   
I was looking for them? Then I realize that I must have spoken   
out loud. I give her a nod and move toward the balcony, but   
before I reach the doorway, I feel a hand clasp me on the arm.   
I turn to see two dark eyes staring at me…pleading to me.   
Sailor Mars stands there holding tight onto my arm. I know   
what she will say, but I gave her no time to speak her mind  
for suddenly I pull her into my arms and held her in a tight   
sisterly hug. Surprised at first, I feel her body stiffen in   
my arms, but then she returns my hug as strong as best friends   
can do. No matter what our history was, she and I have always   
been close, almost like twin sisters. And I miss her so much.   
Suddenly, I feel our bodies tighten together as I realize that   
the others have also gathered around, holding both of us.   
A group hug I think with a smile.   
Such things I have taken for granted, but now miss when it is not there.  
  
"Serena, " Jupiter speaks up from above me, " why didn't you   
tell us? Why did you let us do what we did to you?"  
  
"I am so sorry, " Mars finally speaks. "You know I never mean   
what I say when I am angry. Do you forgive me, Serena?"  
  
"Do you forgive us all?" Saturn asks, her dark eyes full of   
emotions so new to her. I look down at her, remembering  
her future self dying in my arms. A tear escapes my eyes   
as I manage to whisper, "You know I will always forgive you.   
There is nothing you can do that I can never forgive." Then   
I add in a sadden tone, "But can you forgive me for all the   
things I said?"  
  
"Yes, " came the spontaneous reply. Then they all started   
to cry as their emotion catches up with them. Their hug on   
me tightens, so much so that I have to squeak out, "Y-you guys,   
a little breathing room here." They all laugh and apologize   
altogether as each one slowly release me from their *tight*   
embrace. The atmosphere eases with their laughter filling up   
the room like the light from the chandelier.  
  
I watch them in silence, taking in their warmth and light. I   
turn quietly to the balcony and take a step outside. I look   
to my right and there she stands, looking solemnly at the moon.   
I can see tears falling from her face in glistening droplets like   
a shower of stars. I speak up, "Uranus?" She suddenly turns   
around to look at me. Her eyes full of pain that I never thought   
could be possible in any eyes. She rushes to me as silent as the   
wind, gathered me in her strong embrace, burying her face in my   
silver hair. "Oh, Serena," she manages between sobs. "I thought  
you would never wake up. I thought I had killed you. Oh god!   
Serena can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?"  
  
I cradle her head in my arms as sobs wrack her tall slim body.   
Uranus has always been like a big sister to me. We have all been   
like sisters to each other, but Uranus, along with Jupiter have   
always been protective of me like older sisters. Maybe because   
of their height, they felt this obligation to take the big   
sister role. I am glad they did. I love them all so much.   
"There has been too much asking for forgiveness tonight, "   
I whisper. "None of you should ask for forgiveness for something   
that needs none."  
  
"But Serena, what I did can't be accepted. It can't even be   
forgiven!" Her muffle cry floats to my ears from my shoulder.  
  
"No Uranus," I whisper in a soft, reassuring voice,   
"don't blame yourself for an action I know you did not mean."  
  
"But I did mean it. That's why it hurts me so much. I   
meant to hurt you. I meant to hurt you." Her body shakes   
again as tears seize her eyes once more.  
  
"No, you meant to hurt an insolent stranger who mocks your   
dearest friend. You could not have known that that stranger   
was me. Please Uranus, stop crying. Your pain is tearing me   
apart. I don't want to see any of you suffer anymore." Then   
I ask in a light voice, trying to ease the atmosphere that   
now hangs so heavily on our souls, "What did you mean that you   
thought I would never wake up? How long *did* I sleep, an hour,   
two hours?"  
  
Uranus stands up straight looking at me with her eyes twinkling   
in the dark, "An hour? Two hours? No way, Ms Sleeping Beauty,   
you slept for an entire two days and three nights." Then she   
laughs uncontrollably at the shock expression on my face. Her   
roaring laughter drifts into the apartment, making everyone   
inside look out giving us both quizzical expressions on their faces.  
  
"Hey, did we miss something here?" Mars asks in her usual   
temperamental tone.  
  
"Only the joke, " and Uranus roars in laughter again.  
  
Mars turns around mumbling something under her breath along   
the line of, "That girl, if she wasn't so tall, I'd smack her on   
the head." I smile as I heard this.  
  
"I hope you don't mind, " I speak up. "I would like to speak to   
Pluto for a moment."  
  
"Of course." Uranus replies.  
  
After a few moments climbing the stairs, I step out onto the   
dark roof, illuminated only by the faint light of the quarter   
moon. I see her standing there, alone by the fence. She hangs   
her head as I hear her cry.   
"Pluto," I ask, " why are you crying? Is there something wrong?  
Did I do something?" I turn my face up to the moon and say quietly,   
"I know I've said some things…in the past few days, but I-I   
don't really mean them."  
  
From the corner of my eye, I can see her look up at me with   
such sorrow that makes me want to cry along with her.   
"No," she whispers. "You did not do anything wrong."  
  
"But the things I've said…"  
She cuts me off, "Words are empty if the action does not   
support it. Besides, I know you all too well to believe in   
your words, Serenity."  
"What does that mean?" I ask, feeling my old emotions of annoyance   
rising up again. I have not felt that for a long time.   
I kind of miss it.  
"Oh, you know," Pluto replies in exasperation.   
"You were always bubbly. You never realize what you say until   
it escapes your mouth."  
  
"Bubbly?" I feel color rising into my face. "I am NOT bubbly!"   
Suddenly I see her laugh, an action few have ever witness.   
But being here, hearing her silvery laughter ringing in my   
ears, I can't help but feel special…privileged to be able   
to witness it. I laugh along with her. Our laughter drifts out   
onto the brilliant city below carried along by the wind.   
So long, I think, when last have I laughed like this before?   
There are so much that I miss.  
  
We continued to laugh enjoying the comfort of each other's   
company, but our peace does not last long. It never does.   
We suddenly hear another laughter, one that chills us to our bone.   
A gray mist swirls behind us and we both turn to see the one   
being that none of us want to encounter, Darkness.  
  
"Well, I finally found you." Darkness gives an evil smirk.   
"I told you we will meet again."  
  
"What is it that you want?" I speak daggers.  
  
"Oh, don't worry," she replies in an unconcerned voice.   
"I am not after you. I only want the guy. What's his name?"   
She raises a slender finger to her head pretending to remember   
her victim. "Oh yeah, Prince Endymion," she says his name   
like a lion licking his chops at a gazelle.  
  
"You can NEVER have him!" I yell at her in rage.  
  
"Oh, I know you won't give him in so easily. That is why I   
came here to you. I realize that the only way for me to get   
him is to kill you instead." Her eyes glow in a strange aura   
of lights.  
  
Pluto steps forward and cries, "Serena, stop this! Darien is   
your love! You love him as he loves you." Then she screams in   
greater desperation, "Fight this evil thing that has captured   
you Serena. I know you can do this! Fight it! Fight your way   
back to us, fight your way back to him!"  
  
A strange light flickers in Darkness' eyes but is quickly consumed   
again by the darkness that conquers her soul. "Shut up, you   
annoying pest!" Darkness shouts and blasts Pluto, her body   
slamming into the fence at the incredible force of the attack.  
  
I ran to place myself between her and Pluto, who holds her stomach   
in pain. I raise my hand in front of me and a flash of light   
appears revealing my Eternity rod. I hold it tight in my battle   
stance, poised like a snake ready to strike at the slightest motion.   
She gives a mocking laughter, shaking a finger at me pitifully.   
Clicking her tongue she speaks, "Tsk…Tsk…Tsk, such haste.   
No, no deary, I don't want to have a battle here on the roof.   
No." Then she looks straight into my eyes; her gaze pierces my   
soul. "No, a battle like this needs more room…for the blood   
to spill. I will meet you in the park. Same place…same time   
tomorrow. The winner gets Darien. The loser…well, she dies."   
And she gives her chilling laughter and disappears into the mists.   
I look past the space she occupied only moments before and   
catches the stunned gazes from the other Sailor Soldiers and   
Darien. Horror upon horror reflects in all their eyes. They   
must have heard her laughter and came up, I think to myself.   
They heard everything.  
  
I turn around in silence and look up at the moon, shining more   
brightly then ever in the heavens. I hear Mars take a hesitant   
step forward and speak in a torn voice, "You cannot Cosmos.   
It is suicide. You must not go."  
  
"Serena, you can't go. There must be another way," Darien's   
concern voice floats to me. "I'll go to her. I'll try to free   
her soul from this…this thing that has taken over her."  
  
I shake my head in sorrow. "No," I whisper sadly. "There is   
nothing you can do. Sailor Chaos' power is much stronger than   
all of you combine. The only way Serena may possibly be free   
again, is if Chaos herself dies."  
  
"W-what are you saying?" Neptune asks, but I sense she fears the   
answer that I am about to give her.  
  
"I have run away for too long," I say in a lost voice. "I can   
run no longer. It is time I accept my fate and face my destiny."  
  
"No Serena," Darien speaks quickly. I can hear him walking   
towards me. "You are not going to face Chaos." His words brought   
gasps from the others, even Pluto. I feel his strong warm arms   
around my waist.   
I wish I could stay in your arms forever, my love, I think to myself.   
Instead, I break away from his embrace, taking a few steps closer   
to the fence and speak with my voice like the wind that once   
whispered in my ears, "I cannot let the future be destroyed   
because of my fear. It is time I allow destiny to help me   
choose my footing on this path I have chosen to take."  
  
============================================  
  
[Okay, two more chapters to go. Remember email me and tell me what you  
think. Suggestions, compliments, and critiques are all welcome. Email  
Address above.]  



	9. Confrontation

Please keep that in mind the fact that this story is manga   
related.   
  
I've decided to use English translation names for the Inner Senshi and   
Japanese names for the Outer, since I have no clue   
as to what their English translated names are. And Haruka and Michiru are   
only close friends not gay.  
It only makes it easier for me to write.  
  
This story is rated PG, well some slight violence and maybe language later   
on, if you call the word damn a bad thing. Well, enough of my babbling! On   
with the show!  
  
Oh yeah, PLEASE email me and tell me what you think of my story.  
Critiques, compliments, suggestions, anything would be fine.  
Just FEED MY EMAIL INBOX! I think it will die of starvation soon!  
  
Usual disclaimers: Sailor Moon and all its characters and likeliness   
belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha/Toei. English translation is made   
possible by DiC.   
  
My email address: ml_eclipse@hotmail.com  
  
= thoughts  
[ ] = author's note  
======================================================  
Serenity's Legend written by Cosmos  
  
Part IX: Confrontation  
  
  
"Where is she Setsuna?" Darien asks sternly. "If you know where she is   
and are not telling me then I'll--"  
  
Setsuna sighs, "For the fifteenth time, Darien, I have *no* clue as to   
where she can be. Though I may have the power to see the future does   
not mean that I am also a radar for missing Sailor Soldiers. She may   
just want some time alone to herself. You must understand Darien that   
this person is Sailor Cosmos, the future, future self of Serenity.   
She is not the typical klutzoid we all know so well. She is a very   
powerful being. Anyway, she has gone through a lot since Chaos'   
appearance and the beginning of the Sailor Wars. She deserves some time   
alone, don't you agree?"  
  
Darien looks out onto the clear still surface of the crystal blue   
lake shining under the setting sun before them. He gives a sad sigh.   
She may not be Serena of this time, he thinks, but she is still   
my Serena. I must protect her at all costs. Yet, I fear that this   
time it is a battle she must face alone. From what she has told us   
so far, Sailor Chaos is an opponent far greater than we could ever   
imagine. Even our powerful future selves were no match for her.   
He then looks at the reflection of the sun dancing merrily on the   
clear surface like a water sprite. Suddenly his brows knit together   
in greater sorrow. Serena, he thinks. *My* Serena from this time.   
Images of the dark being known as Darkness appears in his mind.   
A tear slowly creeps into his deep blue eyes, Oh, my love, he thinks,   
how did I ever let you be caught in such a situation? Me! The one who   
vowed to protect you. God! A tear creeps down his cheek,   
what are we to do? What am *I* to do? How can I free you? How can   
I get you *back*…back into my arms where I will *never* let you go   
again. I am so lost without you…my lovely Serena. If not for your   
future self here to comfort me, I would have probably drowned in my   
own tears. Yet, it is you that I want, because it is *you* who   
belongs to me and whom I belong to. Will you ever come back to me,   
my dearest love? That question constantly haunts his nights   
since the day he discovered that Darkness is Serena.   
Constantly, wherever he goes, whatever he does, he always sees   
her lovely face laughing that luxurious laughter back at him.   
His vision begins to blur as tears flood his ocean blue.  
  
Suddenly a concern voice interrupts his thoughts, "Prince, are   
you all right?"  
He wipes away the last droplets of his pain and replies, his   
voice like the mist that is now slowly covering the lake surface   
in front of them, "Yes, she does have the right to be alone."  
  
Setsuna's gaze on her Prince softens. She understands perfectly   
well what he is going through. She knows how much he loves her   
and how much all that has happened is hurting him. With the last   
rays of sunlight slipping over the horizon, Setsuna looks at her watch.   
Almost eight, she thinks. The time for battle is approaching fast.   
"Don't worry, Darien," she whispers. "You won't have to look for her   
any longer." And Setsuna is right, for just then, a bright flash of   
light indicates the arrival of Sailor Cosmos. All the girls and   
Darien also transform into their warrior selves. Tuxedo Mask quickly   
rushes over to Cosmos and holds her in a tight embrace.  
  
"Don't you *dare* disappear on me like that again," he whispers   
into her ear in a faux deadly tone. She smiles at him sadly and   
returns his embrace with equal magnitude. "I won't," she whispers   
back, her voice like the lonely call of a songbird.  
  
"But there is one thing I want you to do for me," she suddenly speaks.   
Then, removing herself gently from his embrace she steps back to face   
them all. "There is one thing I want you *all* to do for me," she   
speaks again.  
  
"What?" Mars asks in concern.  
  
"I want you to promise me that you will not interfere in this battle,   
no matter what happens."  
  
They all gasp in surprise. Then silence fell upon them like the   
darkness of night. No one spoke. No one move.   
"Promise me," Cosmos pleads, "You *must* give me this one promise!"  
  
"But we cannot." Mars barely whispers, her throat tight with the   
pain in her heart.  
"You know we cannot make such a promise to you," Uranus says gently.  
Mercury steps forward and place a friendly hand on Cosmos' shoulder,   
"Don't worry, Cosmos. Together, we can beat Sailor Chaos."  
  
Cosmos shakes her head in sadness, "No…you all do not have   
the power to fight her. Compared to her power, yours are nothing   
but a mere breath in the wind. Only I can defeat her. This battle   
is between her and me alone. It shall be the final battle between light   
and dark. The outcome will determine what our *true* future shall be.   
Please, just promise me you will not interfere, for your sake as well   
as for mine."  
  
She looks at them, but each refuses to meet her gaze. Finally, Mars   
speaks up, "We cannot and *will not* give you that promise, but we   
will promise you this…that we will not interfere as long as you   
remain standing, but if we see you fall then we will break this   
promise and fight."  
  
The others look at Mars in shock, but none made any movements to   
stop her. They knew that that is the best thing they could do or   
else Cosmos might do something else that they would all regret.  
  
Cosmos looks at Mars for a moment. All her emotions are contained   
in that single gaze. She nods. "*But*," she adds, "even if I am   
still on my knees, you may *not* enter."  
  
Mars opens her mouth to protest but Cosmos cuts her off, "The promise   
has been given." Suddenly, a swirl of dark gray mists above   
them catches their attention. She has arrived. Darkness appears   
in a flash of red light staring down at them with an evil grin on   
her face.  
  
"I thought this will be a battle just between  
the two of us?" Darkness snickers.  
  
"It is," Cosmos replies coldly.  
  
"Oh, I see…you need an audience to cheer you   
on is that it?" Cosmos does not reply; instead she simply   
glares at Darkness with ice freezing her gaze.   
Just then, Cosmos begins to glow as pure hot light emanates from   
her like the sun. Her long white cape flaps in an invisible wind.   
The cape begins to glow even brighter, then splits down the middle   
and rises to each side of her back. In a flash of feathers   
and stardust, each piece of the cape transformed into two large white   
wings protruding from her back. She begins to float up to meet Darkness.  
  
Now at eye level, Cosmos whispers in a deadly tone, "Let the   
battle…begin." Darkness gives an evil smirk and immediately shoots   
a dark bolt of light at Cosmos without warning. However, Cosmos   
dodges the attack easily, and raising her tawny staff up to the   
sky shouts, "Moonlight Revelation…Surround!" A beam of intense   
bright light immediately fires from the bright crystal on top of   
her staff, directly at Darkness. Darkness narrows her eyes and   
barely dodges the attack. And so the battle begins. Each opponent is   
equal in strength and fighting skill as the other.  
  
Below, the Sailor Soldiers and Tuxedo Mask watch with clenched hands at   
their sides. The battle they are witnessing now is beyond their   
imagination. Both beings have power that is incomparable. But what   
troubles them more is the fact that both are one person. One from   
the future and one from the past fighting each other. They knew   
that none of them *must* get hurt, because both are the same person   
whom they all love dearly.  
  
The battle dragged on wearily, but none of the opponents seem to be   
tiring. Each shooting intense beams of energy at the other and   
each dodging it. Just then, as Cosmos dodges an attack sent to   
her by Darkness, she whispers something under her breath and a bright   
light escapes from her crystal on her staff blinding Darkness whom   
did not expect this sudden burst of energy. Cosmos immediately takes   
advantage of the situation and attacks with one of her strongest   
attacks. She lets go of her Eternity rod which floats within arms   
reach in front of her. Clasping her hands around the crystal located  
at the top of her weapon, she shouts with all the emotions within her   
soul, "Cosmos…Crystal…Soul…Encasement!" Darkness hears her shout   
out her attack, but as she looks up she realizes that it is too   
late for her to dodge it. A pale beam of light shoots down from   
the full moon above them hitting the Cosmos Crystal directly at   
its center. The beam of light immediately increases in intensity   
within the crystal and radiates horizontally out of the crystal in   
a thin wide beam. As the thin flat beam of light reaches Darkness   
it surrounds her legs and expands up over her head surrounding   
her in a cocoon of sparkling silver. Darkness tries to break   
free from her prison, but her attempts are futile. She is trap.   
W-what is h-happening to me? Darkness thinks as she feels a   
strange warmth seeping into her soul and surrounds her dark heart.   
"What are you doing to me?" Darkness screams, fear flashing   
visibly in her dark swirling eyes.  
  
"Awakening you, Princess Serenity." Cosmos closes her eyes and knits   
her brow in deep concentration. This will take a lot of strength   
from her, but she knows that this is the only way. Her star sigil   
on her forehead begins to pulse softly in tune to the beating of  
her heart. Suddenly the pulsing light slowly dims to a bare glow.   
Instead light from the outside, from the moon, is drawn into the   
sigil and the crescent moon sigil appears through the star   
glowing brightly. With her eyes still close, Cosmos concentrates   
on her memory of her past and all her emotions of love into   
a strong beam of light which she directs out from her sigil   
onto Darkness' forehead. Darkness screams as the thin beam   
of intense energy hits her squarely on her forehead, burning   
into her mind. She can sense something deep inside, a strange   
strength…a strange glow of pure energy beginning to awaken   
in her. Slowly, with the help from Cosmos, this small flame   
flickering into life deep within her soul increases in intensity  
until the flame becomes a great fire burning brightly and   
strongly within her. The light within her soul penetrates through   
the darkness dissolving it.  
  
At a distance, the onlookers from below watch in amazement   
as Cosmos increase the intensity of the thin beam of light which   
is now connecting her mind with Darkness'. They can see perspiration   
from her efforts slowly drift down her face. Her hands held before   
her shakes as fatigue slowly overcomes her numbing mind, yet she   
persists in her effort to awaken Serena's trapped soul because she   
knows that if she gives up now Serena will be lost forever.   
Slowly, gently she lets her thoughts drift to Serena's…  
  
[conversation held within their minds]  
  
"Princess Serenity can you hear me?" Silence.  
  
"Serenity, please fight this evil. I am here to help you."   
Silence. Cosmos strains harder to reach Serena's small soul   
buried deep beneath all the darkness. "Serena!" her mind screams,   
"You *must* fight this! Please, fight with me! Fight this evil   
so that you can be free. You *cannot* give up. There are those   
who are waiting for you out there. They love you dearly, Serena.   
Fight for them…fight to be with them!"  
  
"Help me," a small cry deep within the void drifts to Cosmos.   
She gasps in shock but quickly reaches out to her again.  
  
"I will help you, but in order for you to be free you must fight!   
Fight Serena! Fight!" Faintly she can sense Serena's weak and   
frightened soul. "Don't be afraid Serena," Cosmos assures her.   
"You are no longer alone in this struggle. I am here with you."  
  
"But who are you?"  
  
"I am you," Cosmos replies. "I am your future self.   
Your ultimate being. You are strong Serena. I know you are   
because I *am* you. So let your strength shine through, my friend.   
Let your love and light defeat this evil." Cosmos can sense Serena   
struggling against the retreating darkness. She suddenly adds,   
"He loves you, Serena. Darien loves you with his heart and soul.   
He is suffering the onslaught of sorrow right now because you are   
not with him. He desperately wants you back, my dear. He needs you   
as we all need the sun. Don't let this evil thing take him away   
from you. You are destined to be with him, remember? Both of you   
will have a daughter soon in the future. Don't let that bright   
future awaiting you be taken away from you. Look deep inside yourself,   
Serena. Find your inner strength. It is there. Find it and hold   
on to it with all your might.  
  
"Please Serena," Cosmos pleads, " you must pull through this because   
if you don't then the future cannot come. I will no longer exist   
and neither would your daughter. What about Darien? What will happen   
to him if you are not there to bring him sunshine, to make his   
lonely world bright and beautiful again. He not only loves you, Serena,   
but he *needs* you. Here Serena…take my hand." Cosmos reaches out a   
hand toward Serena. In their minds, her hand looks like a golden   
object shining brightly with beautiful light that wards away the darkness.   
For a while, nothing happens. Cosmos can not sense any movement in   
Serena's soul. Have I lost her? Cosmos thinks in fright. No!   
I can't lose her. No…come on Serena you can do this. You are  
strong…come on! Just then, she can sense a faint glow deep within   
the darkness. Is it…is it getting stronger? Yes! She can   
see the light deep beneath increasing in intensity.   
She is fighting back! Cosmos almost screams with joy. The   
light grows with greater strength until finally the darkness is   
driven out of Serena's body and Serena's soul shines brilliantly   
in its place. In her mind, Serena reaches her hand out and grasp   
Serenity's in a tight hold.  
  
[outside their minds]  
  
Below, watching all that had occurred within the last five hours   
in silence, the small group of nine soldiers gasps in surprise   
when they see beams of bright light pierce through Serena's dark   
body quickly driving away the darkness that once controlled it.   
Her moon sigil appears shattering the dark crystal and tiara.   
The crescent moon sigil glows brightly with great strength. They   
all smile joyfully as tears of happiness stream down their faces   
uncontrollably. They know that Serena is truly free, and that she   
has returned to them. Darien looks at the bright being shining   
brilliantly in front of Cosmos with joy dancing in his pair of   
sapphire eyes. Unbelievable emotions of joy and relief floods him   
lifting his soul up like two pairs of wings. You have come back   
to me, he whispers.  
  
Just then, the thin beam of light between them ceases and Serena   
begins to fall from the sky. Darien quickly breaks himself away   
from the group and runs to catch her. He catches her gently in his   
arms. Looking down at her, his brilliant blue eyes radiate all the   
love that he has for this young girl. Then he looks away from her   
to Cosmos and sees that she is also slowly drifting down to the ground.   
As her feet touches the pavement below her, Cosmos can feel fatigue   
beginning to overwhelm her body. Her legs give out beneath her and   
she slumps to the ground.  
  
"Someone quickly check on her," Darien commands. The girls were way   
ahead of him because as he spoke they were already kneeling by her   
side. Jupiter picks Cosmos up in her arms and brings her over to   
Darien who is still holding Serena unconscious in his arms. Once   
they reach each other, Cosmos opens her eyes and turns her gaze toward   
her past self lying limply in Darien's arms. A small moan causes all   
attention to turn on Serena whose eyes slowly flickers open. She   
smiles a warm smile and whispers, "Darien."  
  
"Oh, Serena," Darien cries, as tears begin to drift down his cheeks,   
"I thought you would never come back to me."  
  
"I can never leave you, my love. I love you more than anything   
in this world."  
  
"And I love you more than there are numbers of stars in the heaven,"   
he whispers warmly back at her.  
  
Serena then turns her gaze onto a figure in white lying close   
beside her in Jupiter's arms. She smiles and says, "Thank you."   
Feeling fatigue overcoming her body and weighing heavily on her   
eyelids, Serena gives a soft sigh and drifts into a deep slumber in   
the arms of her lover.  
  
Cosmos looks at her past self with a sad smile while the others began   
to cheer. Gathering all the strength left in her tiring body, Cosmos   
struggles to stand up.  
  
"No," Jupiter intervenes, "you are weak from the battle. You should   
stay down and rest. We'll take you back to Setsuna's apartment to recover."  
  
Cosmos shakes her head. "No," she whispers, "the battle has not yet finish."   
As if her statement has suddenly come to life, a dark wind slams into them.  
  
"What is happening?" Mars asks in fear. Cosmos stands up and faces   
a dark portal opening a short distance from them. The others turn to   
follow Cosmos' gaze and see a dark figure step through the portal.  
  
"You!" Darien shouts. They all see a woman…at least they think it is   
a woman for all they see is something like a translucent shadow   
standing before them. This…this shadow…being has long dark purple hair   
floating around her like she is under water. On her face, two bloody   
spheres glow brightly, which they assume, are her eyes. "You are the   
one who captured Serena," Darien growls. "You are not going to get   
her this time." Darien places Serena gently down onto the ground and   
stands up. He begins to move toward her as a strange energy   
begins to form in his hands, but his path is suddenly blocked by Cosmos.  
  
[In the manga, Tuxedo Mask has an attack called   
"Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber," as well as the rose.]  
  
  
"Get out of my way, Sailor Cosmos."  
  
"No," she says sternly. "You gave me a promise earlier remember?"   
He turns to look at her in surprise. Then it suddenly dawns on him   
who this dark being standing before them is. He clenches his hand   
in a tight fist and reluctantly step back to crouch beside the slumbering   
Serena where he lets his icy gaze fall upon the dark being.  
  
Sailor Chaos simply laughs. "Such fools," she says.  
  
"Enough games Sailor Chaos," Cosmos speaks in an icy tone as she steps   
forward to confront her. "Let us make this place, this time, as the   
stage for the final battle between good and evil."  
  
"Are you sure you want to fight me?" Chaos asks mockingly.   
"You know that you can never defeat me. You are weak. You will   
probably run away again."  
  
Cosmos narrows her eyes until they are merely blue slits as she   
replies in a dangerous and challenging tone, "Do not count on me   
retreating *this* time, Chaos.   
This time the Sailor Wars shall end here."  
  
======================================================  
[Well, what do you think? Email me! All right...onto the Finale!!!]  



	10. As Fate had Ordained

All RIGHT! This is a the FINALE to my Serenity's Legend story.  
Any loose ends in the other parts are answered in this final part.  
  
This story is rated PG, well some slight violence and maybe language,   
if you call the word damn a bad thing. Well, enough of my babbling! On   
with the show!  
  
Oh yeah, PLEASE email me and tell me what you think of my story.  
Critiques, compliments, suggestions, anything would be fine.  
Just FEED MY EMAIL INBOX! I think it will die of starvation soon!  
  
Usual disclaimers: Sailor Moon and all its characters and likeliness   
belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha/Toei. English translation is made   
possible by DiC.   
  
More author's note at bottom!  
  
My email address: ml_eclipse@hotmail.com  
  
= thoughts  
[ ] = author's note  
======================================================  
Serenity's Legend written by Cosmos  
  
Part X: As Fate had Ordained  
  
  
"Are you sure you want to fight me?" Chaos asks mockingly.   
"You know that you can never defeat me. You are weak. You will   
probably run away again."  
  
Cosmos narrows her eyes until they are merely blue slits as she   
replies in a dangerous and challenging tone, "Do not count on me   
retreating *this* time, Chaos. This time the Sailor Wars shall end here."  
  
"So be it." A strong gust of dark energy suddenly radiates from Chaos   
smacking into Cosmos causing her to fall onto her knees. Sailor Mars   
takes in instinctive step forward, but then stops when she remembers   
the promise she had given. Instead, she clenches her fist and watches   
in intolerable silence.  
  
Strangely enough, Cosmos notices that Chaos appears to be holding back.   
She has seen Chaos fight before against the other Sailor Soldiers in the   
future; she was cruel and unrelenting. She never gives any pauses   
between her attacks. Constantly driving forward with strong blasts,   
her opponent did not have a chance. Yet, now, Chaos simply stands   
there before her, looking at her with a mocking smile. Why isn't   
she attacking me? Cosmos thinks. Nonetheless, this is no time for   
asking questions; instead Cosmos holds her staff in an upright position   
with the end touching the ground as she shouts,   
"Cosmos…Shockwave…Flow!" A sparkle of light shines at the bottom of the   
rod and a wave of bright energy emanates from the rod, slithering like   
a snake the energy travels at the speed of light toward Chaos, but she  
easily dodges it. Again, Chaos only creates a strong gust of dark   
energy at Cosmos, nothing more, nothing less. Cosmos holds her footing   
and leans against the strong gust without a problem.   
Why isn't she attacking me? Cosmos asks again.   
This is not an attack! I know she has great powers but she is   
holding back. Why? What is she up to?  
  
"What are you trying to do?" Cosmos yells in anger and frustration.   
"Why aren't you fighting?"  
  
"I do not need to fight you," Chaos answers, unconcern. "I can defeat   
you easily, too easily."  
  
"What the *hell* are you talking about?"  
  
"Don't you understand? I can simply make you falter by a mere wave   
of my hand."  
  
"You *are* a fool if you underestimate me, Sailor Chaos!"  
  
"No, Cosmos," Chaos drawls, "*you* are the fool to underestimate *me*!   
I do not need to fight you. I can simply *make* you loose."  
  
Cosmos can feel raging fire burning inside her. How *dare* her to   
think that I can be defeated so easily. I'll show her!   
"Cosmos…White Flame…Rage!" Unbelievably, Cosmos created a large fireball   
burning at such intensity that it looks white, which she shoots   
at Chaos. Chaos simply gives a smirk and raises her hand producing a   
powerful gust of wind which deflects the fireball at a tree resulting   
in a huge blast that leaves a large black burnt hole several meters   
wide where the tree once stood. The Sailor Soldiers take in a sharp   
breath at the incredible destruction before them. Cosmos now looks   
at Chaos in extreme frustration.  
  
"Why aren't you fighting!" She screams. "I told you that this would   
be the final battle between us. Only one will leave here alive. You   
hear me! This will be a battle to end this *damn* war!"  
  
Chaos smiles evilly, "You have not realized it have you? The war has   
already ended even before it began. And you have lost." Cosmos looks   
at her in angry confusion.  
  
Chaos gives an exasperated sigh, "Fine, I'll show you what I mean."   
She begins to glow with a strange light, then half of a crystal darker   
than night appears before her. Her eyes glow an even brighter red as   
the crystal begins to turn until only a ball of dark energy looking   
something like a small black hole is seen. Chaos reaches her hand   
inside the dark void and grasp onto something that none of them can see.   
Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Darien sees Cosmos grab at her   
chest in pain. The others saw this too and quickly shout, "Cosmos!   
What's wrong?"  
  
Cosmos was just standing there, staring at the dark void in amazement   
when she suddenly felt a cold hand grab her heart and seal it in ice.   
A strange dark energy begins to flow out from the center of her chest   
and begins to envelop her soul. W-w-what is…h-happening to me? What   
is she doing? Cosmos looks at Chaos in surprise, fearing glowing   
brightly in her eyes.  
  
"What is she doing to her?" Venus asks in anguish. They see the dark   
void split into two spheres where Chaos has her hands inside each.  
  
Chaos raises her hands and points them at Darien who was watching Cosmos   
in anguish. Cosmos immediately feel something grip her arms and hands.   
Slowly, this thing controlling her hands forces her to turn and aim her   
rod at Darien. Her eyes suddenly widen in horror when her crystal   
releases a strong energy attack directly at him. WHAT?  
  
"NO!" She screams. She sees her attack flying straight at her love.   
Without a second thought, Cosmos quickly vanished to only reappear   
between Darien and the oncoming attack. This action is unexpected and   
Chaos is taken aback when she sees Cosmos standing in front of Darien,   
her arms wide in order to shield him from the blast.  
  
Chaos roars, "NO!" But it is too late for any of them to do anything.   
The immense energy hits Cosmos squarely in the chest causing her to   
collapse onto her knees. She is determined not to fall or else the   
Sailor Soldiers will enter the battle. She does not want them to be hurt.   
This is something she knows she must do herself.  
  
Cosmos looks at the ground that is slowly turning red with her blood.   
Blood oozes down her hands located on her sides, supporting her.   
She can feel the metallic taste of her blood in her mouth and feel the   
warm liquid drip from her mouth onto the ground. She tries to take in   
a breath but her chest screams in pain. She groans and clutches her   
chest where a new pain begins to take over her. From the corners of   
her eyes she sees Chaos also on the ground, clutching her bleeding chest   
similar to herself. Who attacked her? Cosmos wondered. Taking a   
weary glance around her, she sees that none of the other soldiers have   
made any movements from where they stand locked in time by the horror   
they had just witnessed. If they did not attack Chaos, then who did?   
Who injured her?  
  
Cosmos groans in pain as she attempts to stand up. Every time she feels   
a strong wave of pain hitting her being like a shock wave from a jet, she   
can hear Chaos cry out. Once on her feet, Cosmos looks at Chaos whom by   
now has also regain her feet. She looks at the dark being deep in   
concentration. She notices that Chaos is oozing a dark liquid, which   
she assumed to be her blood, in the same location as herself. In   
addition Chaos is also holding her chest in pain, the very same place   
where Cosmos received the impact of the blast. How could this be?   
Is this coincidence?  
  
Chaos notices Cosmos looking at her strangely. She struggles to   
regain her dominant posture and smiles evilly her at.   
"I told you Cosmos," she speaks in an attempt to hide her pain.   
"I told you the war has ended even before it has begun, and I am  
the victor."  
  
"What did you do to me?" Cosmos asks in fear.  
  
Chaos now laughs demonically, "What did I do to you? Ha-ha-ha!   
I made you attack Endymion, that's what." Then lowering her voice   
to a spine chilling whisper adds, "I control you Cosmos.   
Everything about you from your powers to your very movement…I   
control you." Cosmos' eyes widen in horror.  
  
"How?" is all she can whisper.  
  
"Look at your star seed." Cosmos closes her eyes and commands her   
star seed to appear before her, "Sparkle of my life…reveal yourself   
before me." A small glow begins to appear from her chest,   
then growing stronger. An incredibly clear crystal appears  
before her. She opens her eyes and look at it, but to her horror   
she can see that half the crystal is slowly changing color,   
suddenly glowing dark. Cosmos looks at Chaos questioningly,   
her gaze asks her What is happening?  
  
"Half of my dark star seed is contained within your   
crystal star seed," Chaos replies bluntly.  
  
"What?" Cosmos yells in surprise.  
  
"When Eternal Sailor Moon tried to destroy me in the Cauldron   
of the Stars," Chaos explains, "her star seed melted a long with   
everything else that falls in there. Somehow something went wrong,   
so when Eternal Sailor Moon is again reborn, she didn't realize   
that contained within her star seed is half of mine. And since   
it is part of my star seed, I control part of you." And Chaos   
gives an evil smile.  
  
Cosmos just simply stand there, her vacant gaze reflects the horror   
she now feels. Suddenly images of a battle in the future flashes   
in her mind. She sees Jupiter fighting beside her suddenly falls   
in a bloody heap, then Uranus nearby…then…Endymion.  
  
"Then…," Cosmos breathes, fearing that her assumption is correct.   
"Then their deaths…their deaths…is caused by me?"  
  
"Who?" Chaos asks unconcerned.  
  
"Eternal Sailor Jupiter, Uranus, and…and Endymion."  
  
Laughing hysterically, Sailor Chaos speaks, "So, I see that you   
have recovered your memory. I was hoping that I had erased it   
completely. Tisk…tisk…oh well that was just too bad."  
  
"You mean…it is true?"  
  
"Indeed." Cosmos drops to her knees clutching her head   
between her legs, she cries out in a most painful sound   
as *that* strange feeling of guilt that has been haunting her all   
this time finally reveals its ugly face. The heart-wrenching cry   
echoes through the dark park like a lost soul wailing at the moon.   
The Sailor Soldiers and Tuxedo Mask look on in surprise. They did  
not understand at all what had just passed between Cosmos and Chaos.   
What is it that is causing so much pain to Serena? They all wonder.   
They can sense her pain and sorrow. Such a magnitude of grief it is   
almost impossible to believe that anyone can feel such heights of  
emotions. Her soulful cry tears upon their heart as they watch   
her helplessly.  
  
"The truth is painful, isn't it."  
  
No! Darien's heart screams. No! I can't stand to see her   
crying like this. It is tearing me inside. I can feel my soul   
dying with every tear she sheds in grief. I can't watch this! I   
can't let this be! He quickly stands up and rushes over to her side.   
He takes her shaking body into his arms and rocks back and forth   
whispering words of comfort in her ears.  
  
"Serena, please don't cry," he pleads. "I can't stand to see you   
in such pain…in such grief. What has she done to you? I will tear   
her heart out with my bare hands if she had hurt you like this."  
  
"No, Darien," Cosmos whispers between sobs. "It is my heart you   
should tear out."  
  
"What?" Darien holds her so that he can look at her beautiful sad   
face. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Didn't you hear?" Cosmos asks in a voice that lost all emotions.   
"I am a murderer! I was the one that killed you. I killed you!"   
She almost screams in hysteria.  
  
For a moment he looks at her in confusion. Then he realizes what   
she is talking about. She must mean she killed my future self,he thinks.   
Oh my Serena, what you must be suffering. A tear escapes his eye.   
He tightens his embrace, pulling her head to lay on his chest as he   
whispers, "Don't blame yourself. You did not know what you were doing.   
You were under Chaos' control you had no idea. I know the real   
you would never willingly do such a thing. Please Serena…my love…listen   
to me. Forget all that Chaos has made you do. You know deep down   
that it was not you that did it. It was Chaos. Though she controlled   
your hands, she cannot control your heart. Please, love, don't do this   
to yourself. Please, Serena, we need you!" A tear escapes from his eye   
and drifts down onto her face, landing on her star sigil causing it to   
glow brightly. She suddenly feels a warmth flow through her, warmth she   
has long forgotten. This warm energy courses through every vein in her   
body until it reaches her heart where it shatters the cold grip that   
seals her heart in ice.  
  
"You are right Darien," she whispers, her voice growing stronger.   
"It was not me who did that. I could never do that. I love you   
more than life itself." She looks up at him and he notice a small   
light dancing in her eyes. From a distance, Pluto also saw that   
brightness return to Cosmos' eyes, too. "I will protect you. This time   
we will have the peace that we all have waited for so long." She gives   
him a passionate kiss, a kiss that melts his heart. He doesn't want her   
kiss to stop. He wants this moment to last forever, caught in time.   
Yet, she slowly breaks away from him and stands up to confront Chaos.   
He remains where he is, looking at her through a vision that is   
blurred both by tears and by love.  
  
Chaos laughs at her, "Well that was a touching scene. Don't even bother   
fighting me Cosmos. You know that you will only lose."  
  
Cosmos does not reply; instead she simply looks at Chaos with a   
mysterious smile. Something in that look seems to cause Chaos to stiffen   
in fear. Silence falls among them…and apprehension. A strange feeling of   
mystery suddenly weighs the atmosphere down as everyone looks at Cosmos   
intensely, watching her every move…wondering what she will do. Chaos has   
proven to be a powerful opponent, too powerful. There does not seem to   
be a way to kill her. What will Cosmos do?  
  
Cosmos gives Chaos a teasing smile, "You want to know something, Chaos?   
I, too, know a little secret."  
  
Chaos can feel fear grip her dark soul like a cloak. Trying not to show   
her fear, Chaos questions in a restraint voice, "What secret? Ha! You   
have nothing over me. You know that you can never defeat me."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
The reply freezes her. She narrows her crimson eyes and replies with   
a question, "What are you up to Cosmos? Tell me what your little mind   
is plotting?"  
  
Cosmos gives a mocking laughter. "Look at who is frightened now. I   
now your worse fear, Chaos."  
  
"And what could that be?"  
  
"You are afraid to die." The answer hits her like a typhoon.   
Cosmos' smile widens in pleasure as she sees fear reflecting off of   
Chaos' eyes like a beacon in the dark.  
  
"Your attacks cannot kill me. No one can harm me."  
  
"I do not have to attack you to kill you. You see Chaos, your little   
advantage over me also has a little disadvantage…a drawback that I   
have now figured out. You can't die by an outside attack, because part   
of your life being flows through me through your half of the dark crystal."  
  
Chaos' eyes widen with each truth she speaks.  
  
"In order to kill you, that half of the crystal must be destroyed."  
  
"But then you would die too because my half has melted with yours."  
  
"Exactly," Cosmos whispers in a tone of ice.  
  
"You wouldn't dare. You don't have the courage to."  
  
"Don't I? Unlike you, my fear does not lie with death." Cosmos raises   
her hand in the air as her rod disappears. A bright clear crystal   
appears between her palms, she has summoned the Cosmos Crystal. The   
other soldiers heard all that has passed between them and they are now   
screaming to her to stop, but their screams of anguish went unheard.   
The Cosmos Crystal glows brighter between her hands as Cosmos' gaze   
lock onto Chaos'. She smiles challengingly.   
  
"And so the war ends here," Cosmos speaks.   
  
Then looking up to the moon above her, she shouts,  
"Cosmos…Lambda…Eternity…Power!" An incredible beam of intense   
energy shoots out from the crystal straight toward her star   
crystal floating between them. The beam of light smashes into   
the crystal like a torpedo shooting through water.   
The crystal shatters in a magnitude of light scattering shards   
as Chaos screams in the background. Everyone look to see that   
Chaos has also shattered into stardust much like the crystal   
and disappears forever.  
  
Cosmos can sense a sharp stab going through her heart when the   
crystal shattered. Her vision immediately darkens and she falls   
into oblivion.  
  
The scream coming from Chaos echoes through the night air like   
that of banshees. Slowly the night swallows the horrible sound   
and silence rides in on his horse.  
  
Silence…that is all they hear and all they know. The silence that   
darkens the night even further is preventing any light from   
shining through. Silence…a silence that none of them want to   
hear…that none want to experience. Never can it be thought that  
mere silence, neither a real object nor a force, can inflict such   
a heavy blow on the soul.  
  
Suddenly they all hear a scream, a heart breaking scream somewhere   
in the distance. No…not far in the distance…nearby.   
Where is it coming from? Darien wonders. Who is screaming?   
Suddenly he realizes that it was him who had emitted the mournful   
cry. He looks in front of him, his body frozen in shock and horror.   
His gaze never leaves her…not even when Chaos screamed her last,   
when her eyes went lifeless, when his angel fell from the sky.   
There she is, lying before him so pure….so innocent. A small   
smile still plays on those pale pink lips. If he hadn't seen all   
that had happened he would have sworn that she is sleeping, living   
in a wonderful peaceful dream that she had always wanted to have.   
Quietly, without a sound, he slowly crawls toward her motionless  
body, picks her up in his arms and buries his head in her silver  
hair crying in wracking sobs that tear at his soul. He wants   
to scream, to run, to strangle himself with his bare hands. Yet   
all he could do is cry…cry until he feels that he will go blind   
with sorrow.  
  
Suddenly, through the tears a flash of light appears. They all   
turn to look at the light, tears blurring their vision. They can   
see that it is a door. A beautiful door with various phases of the   
moon carefully curved into its shiny surface. The door had appeared   
out of thin air. The female soldiers turn to look at Pluto questioningly,   
but she simply shakes her head. She did not summon the Space-Time Gate.  
  
They turn their attention back to the door, confusion and pain   
flood their eyes. Slowly the door opens to reveal eight tall shadows   
standing behind it. They squint their eyes in an attempt to see pass   
the blinding light that is hiding these strangers. Again, as if time  
has suddenly slowed down, these shadow slowly steps through the door   
and into the pale moonlight that floats down to them like a silk curtain.   
They all gasp in surprise as an awesome vision behold their gazes.  
  
Standing before them in a semi-circle are eight powerful beings that   
remarkably resemble themselves, except each being has small white wings   
protruding from their backs. It is they, the Eternal Sailor Soldiers   
and their King. No one move. No one spoke. I don't think anyone even   
dared to breathe as each being look at their past and future reflections.   
  
Finally, King Endymion walks over toward where Darien is on the ground   
holding the lifeless body of Cosmos. King Endymion kneels down and   
looks at her, his eyes slowly fill with tears. Taking her body from   
Darien's arms, he holds her in a tight embrace, burying his head in her   
flowing silver hair. Darien didn't move, nor did he make any attempt   
to stop his future self from taking her. He simply sat there staring   
at them both in sorrow.  
  
"Oh my love," Endymion whispers into her hair. "How I wish I could   
have prevented you from going through all that you had gone through.   
But now my angel you will no longer suffer…none of us will have to suffer   
this again. The future you have fought so hard since the old Silver   
Millenium has finally come. Peace is finally here my love. The world   
you have promised us, and have longed so dearly for, is finally a reality."   
Endymion closes his eyes as tears of joy drift down his face.   
He begins to glow in a strange golden light which spreads to envelop   
Cosmos as well. A sparkle of gold catches Darien's attention and looking   
up he sees the Golden Crystal appear. Floating above the couple, the   
crystal lets out a warm pulse of energy and light. The light increases   
in intensity until the entire park is surrounded by it as if the sun has   
awakened and is shining down on them at this moment. The warm energy   
flows like ribbons toward Cosmos wrapping her body in golden ribbons of   
energy. The star sigil on her forehead, which was dark and lifeless,   
now begins to glow gently with silver light. Darien's eyes widen in   
surprise…and hope. Suddenly from within the Golden Crystal a bright   
silver light shines out. They all look to see that a clear silver   
crystal has been formed inside Endymion's crystal. Slowly, this silver   
crystal flows out from the other one and solidifies before their eyes.   
Darien takes in a sharp breath. Her star crystal, he thinks   
Indeed, Endymion's Golden Crystal has brought her star seed back to life,   
but it also did more. It had separated the dark half of Chaos' crystal   
from hers so now Cosmos' star crystal shines in all its   
brilliance…true and pure. Slowly, her star crystal dissolves back   
into her being.  
  
Endymion looks down at his love bathed in gold light; she looks more   
beautiful than he can ever imagine. He bends down and presses his lips   
onto hers. Immediately, a bright light of silver and gold emanates from   
their closed lips blinding all those that is now watching them in   
amazement and awe.  
  
When the bright light disappears, they all turn to look at the lovely   
couple. The past Sailor Soldiers gasp in surprise when they see that   
the star sigil on Cosmos is now shining brightly, just as it had before.   
Observing her with greater care, they can see that she is breathing again.   
She is alive! Tears of joy drift down all their faces, past and   
future alike.  
  
Cosmos slowly opens her eyes and looks into a pair of the most   
beautiful azure colored eyes. "Darien," she whispers weakly.   
"Is that really you? Please tell me this isn't a dream."  
He smiles down at her warmly, "This is not a dream, my lovely Queen.   
Welcome back my love." A tear drifts down her beautiful clear blue   
eyes. She reaches up and holds him in a tight embrace as if fearing   
that he might disappear any moment only to reveal that this is a dream.   
Fortunately, it is not. He embraces her with all the love he feels   
for her and all the years of separation only made his love for her   
increase hundreds fold.  
  
He whispers softly into her ears, his voice ringing with the sound   
of great passion and love, "You will never leave my arms again, dear   
Serena, my lovely Meatball Head."  
  
"Darien," she cries. "Has it all truly ended?"  
  
"Yes, my heart. The war is now over. The future is as peaceful as   
it can ever be. We have finally reached our destiny."  
  
"I am so glad," she whispers tiredly as she slowly let sleep   
overtake her body. Endymion looks down at the lovely angel in   
his arms, his love through so many lifetimes. He brushes his lips   
against her soft rosy cheeks resulting in her smiling warmly in her   
sleep. He picks her up in his arms and stands up. Darien, whom has   
been sitting near them the whole time, also stands up. Endymion   
looks at him with great compassion and understanding.  
  
"Do not worry about what is to come," he says solemnly. "Just live   
each day as you want to live it and know that peace will eventually  
arrive. And this is proof of that." He turns around and walks   
through the Space-Time Gate with his love in his protective embrace   
without a glance back. The Eternal Sailor Soldiers turn and look back   
at their past selves. Then they all take a bow of gratitude and   
also turn and leave through the gate. Silver mists slowly dissolve   
the gate and the entire object disappears all together, leaving the   
onlookers to watch in silence.  
  
Endymion's strong and gentle voice drifts back into their minds,   
Just live each day as you want to live it and know that peace will   
eventually arrive. And this is proof of that. Darien smiles,   
turns around and picks up *his* love in his arms.   
Leading the way, he walks into the darkness of the night with   
eight Sailor Soldiers following behind him. From a distance,   
they can all see a bright light shine brilliantly down at them.   
They all smile warmly with the knowledge that things will   
eventually turn out well, as fate had ordained.  
  
THE END!  
  
~ To all the dreamers out there, may your dreams come true. ~  
* Cosmos *  
  
=====================================================  
  
[PHEW! I have finally finished this story! When I started out I only thought  
of making it a five part story, but as things began rolling it turned out  
that I doubled it. Well, what do you think? Like it? Hate it?  
Email me and tell me! My address is at the top.   
  
By the way, I'd just like to take the time to thank all of you who have  
emailed me. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this. And to those  
who haven't emailed me (Please do so), but thanks also for reading my story.  
Anyone who has read my story and wants me to read theirs, just email me.  
Hey, a good turn deserves another, right?  
  
Thanks so much for taking  
the time to read this!] 


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